These Children Are Loved
by Sammie050301
Summary: Team As Kids Fic: Sequel to The Troubled Children. Nine year old Penelope Garcia is homeless, tired, and hungry. Stuck in the heinous freezing winter, she dreams of a family. But such dreams would never come true for her, or would they? (Takes place right after TTC ending)
1. The Agonizing Winter

**Disclaimer- I don't own Criminal** **Minds)**

 **A/N: Hullo, hullo! Finally it's here! This is the sequel to my other story, _The Troubled Children._ If you're new and you haven't read that, I highly recommend you do so or else this storyline will be very confusing for you. This takes place directly after the ending of _TTC._ Some more things I should add: I'm trying to make this mostly centered around Penelope's arrival at first, but all the other children (and parents, of course) will have major roles in this.**

 **The warnings in TTC apply here as well.**

 **Reviews make my heart happy.**

* * *

Her neck was warm and cozy, two things that she'd never truly experience all over her body until the flowers would bloom in the spring. It was only November, and the days were only going to get colder from now. She'd have to wait months before the temperature worked in her favor. Penelope Garcia sighed at her newly acclaimed prize, the scarf that she stole from who it looked like— a five year old boy.

She closed her eyes to relive that memory—

 _"Spencer, get back here! You can't leave without me! Mom said I have to go with you since it's getting dark," said the older boy's voice._

 _"But we're just making snow angels, Derek!" The little boy whined back._

 _"Wait for me, kid!"_

 _She narrowed her eyes, now or never. Despite her weight, she bolted at the speed of light, and snatched that kid's scarf off his neck in the process. A tactic that she had learned, unfortunately. It's not like she had a choice in the matter._

 _"Hey! That's my–huh?!"_

 _The older boy just arrived, "Kid, you should wear a scarf. It's pretty cold out."_

 _"I can't...someone took it."_

 _"What do you mean took it? Spencer, did you catch his face?"_

 _"I didn't...I'm so sorry."_

 _"It's okay, Spencer. We'll find out. Let's go tell mom and dad inside."_

—reliving the memory sucked.

Penelope kept trying to tell herself that it was all about survival. That she had to take the chance to get something warm in order to avoid hypothermia. Ugh, she hated feeling guilty. The first time she stole something—when she was new on the streets—she felt horrible with guilt eating at her for days. She was about to go out of her way to try to find the person and give back what she stole.

She remembered it too. It was a pair of sunglasses since summer was close by and the sun would be so bright that it was almost too blinding to bear. Just as she was about to do that, a group of kids—kids like _her—_ had stopped her from doing from what she thought was the right thing to do in her mind.

Their names were Stephen Walker and Shane Wyeth, and they were a couple of years older than her. They took her under their wing, and taught her the ropes to how to survive in the streets—they were homeless after all. It was not going to be easy, and that since there weren't as many homeless kids, that they needed to watch after each other.

Crap, that reminded her. She needed to meet up with them right now. Why was she still standing in the same spot? She could get caught! Penelope blinked back the tears of guilt. Why the hell should she care? That little boy's parents could buy him another scarf. Why should she be consumed with guilt?

It was not like she was going to see them again.

That sentence kept echoing in her mind.

 _It was not like she was going to see them again..._

 _It was not like she was going to see them again..._

 ** _It was not like she was going to see them_ _again..._**

* * *

There were few changes here and there that Haley Hotchner noticed in her family after a few months after adoption. One change, was that everyone unanimously called her and Hotch mom and dad, never once calling them by their names, or even the nickname they all gave her husband. And by looking at Hotch recently, she could tell he really misses it, but he loves being called their dad even more, so it was definitely worth the exchange.

It was only a few months, but she already saw that her children were growing up so quickly. She felt they were more mature than when they first came into her home—back when they were foster children. She took a look at JJ who was sitting across from her, nibbling on one of those chocolate chip cookies she took out of the oven.

JJ was now in third grade, eight years old, had taken a free art class that was offered after school. She still had trouble with math, but she'd let her passion take over once she had a pencil, paper, and some crayons. Although most eight year olds didn't understand the definition of passion, Haley was sure right from the get-go that JJ would push herself in order to be a good artist. She colored in the lines now. Although her academic skills were not as natural as her artistic skills, she knew she had to work harder in order to keep her grades up to par.

Haley thought about Emily—her oldest. It was hard to believe it's been a whole year since she was brought into her care. The teenager spends more time in her room talking over the phone with many friends more than she talks with her family, like where she was right now. Haley expected it—she was fourteen, after all. She just entered high school, and couldn't be any more prouder when she won a High Achievement Award in math last year in her middle school. Emily was doing exceedingly well in her classes thus far–she hoped she kept it up.

Then her boys—who just went out playing in the snow—were her next thoughts.

Derek used to be a runner, a term used for kids who ran away from home frequently and had to be tracked. Haley thought it was preposterous to have those stupid ankle bracelets, she knew that Derek would be safe here. Although at age eleven, he considers himself to be a man, more so than when he did at the age of ten. He had a bit of a growth spurt, a few inches taller and had a little more muscle. This is most likely to do with his therapist telling him that physical exercise would be healthy for his mind and body. Clearly, it had worked. He had entered the sixth grade. His grades were always steady, never drastically dropping—but not improving, either. Still, Derek transformed ever since he came into her care.

Little Spencer came to mind—her youngest. He always did well academically, since he had a very high IQ at the tender age of five. School was going to be a breeze for him, entering the second grade, though his teacher had recommended a few times to let him skip a grade or two since he wouldn't be challenged enough in her classroom. Haley would talk about it with Hotch later. Although he was extremely bright for his age that could question the intelligence of adults, he was diagnosed with a mild case of autism, known as Asperger's Syndrome. Despite what some people may believe, the Hotchner family knew for sure that autism wasn't a death sentence. That it wasn't a _disease._ It didn't define Spencer Reid Hotchner.

"Mom, dad?"

But speaking of her oldest, Emily had finally got off the phone for what seemed like hours. She ran downstairs and took a chocolate chip from the tray and took a bite from it, closing her eyes and savoring the taste. "We need to talk about this." JJ acknowledged this exchange for a second, before taking a bite out of her own cookie.

"Again?" Hotch asked, sounding a little annoyed. He put his usual paper down to face her, "Emily, I told you that I said we'd think about it."

"I just turned fourteen," Emily said, with a grin that would hopefully coax her father into giving in to what she wanted, "I want my own room." JJ nearly spit out her delicious cookie that she just bit into.

"Am I _really_ that difficult to live with?" JJ asked, sounding horrified.

"No, I just want some privacy. Think about it like this, you'd be getting your _own_ room to do whatever you want and draw as much as you want!" This time JJ looked very excited at the idea.

"We should do it! I wouldn't have to deal with Emily's socks everywhere!" JJ shouted gleefully.

"Hey!" Emily exclaimed, making her parents laugh in amusement at the exchange.

"I said we'll think about it," said Haley. "After all, we don't even know how long it'll take—"

" _Mommy! Mommy!"_ A wail from her youngest interrupted.

Haley, along with JJ, Emily, and Hotch were startled as Derek entered the room, carrying Spencer who was crying and sniffling while Derek tried comforting him, but failing as the cries escaping from Spencer wouldn't stop and they were increasing in volume. Haley took over immediately by taking him from Derek's arms and hugging him back.

"Sweetie, what's wrong? Wait—" She pauses to get a good look at what Spencer is wearing, noticing that something was missing. "What happened to your scarf?" That was the wrong thing to ask, as Spencer's wails grew louder and began to hug Haley tighter.

"Someone ran by and stole it," Derek said, struggling to keep the anger out of his voice. Once he said that, Emily looked very mad as well, and JJ looked sad.

"It w-was my _Doctor Who_ scarf!" Spencer wailed in the crook of Haley's neck. JJ got up from her seat and ruffled his hair.

"Spence, please don't cry! We'll get that scarf back!" She said with determination.

Spencer sniffled.

"We can always get a new scarf," said Haley, looking to Hotch for support on this. "I doubt that we'll ever find this person."

"Do you remember what he looked like?" Hotch gently asked his younger son, who shook his head in Haley's neck.

"No, but he wasn't very tall...he was almost my height."

"A _kid?!_ " Emily exclaimed, horrified. Silence from everyone else gave Emily her answer. "That piece of—"

"Emily," Hotch said, shaking his head. "It won't do any good. We'll get another scarf, don't worry." Hotch had other things going through his head at the moment. What kind of kid would be wandering around in the cold alone? That seemed particularly odd, and it made his heart grow sad. Although he was upset that his son was upset, he couldn't help but possibly feel a little for the thief too—a child that was too cold.

Then something in his mind clicked to make him forget all of that sentiment: _His son was upset._ Hotch now snorted in annoyance at whoever the thief was.

He was probably some street thug.

* * *

Penelope knew where she had to go, the problem was getting there from the house she was just at. She wouldn't let herself get lost again, she would be ashamed like the last time she did. Shane and Stephen had to get her from a mile or two away from their usual meeting spot—the nearest metro.

"Hey, Pen!" Penelope felt relief wash over her as she recognized the voice of Shane, and was followed by Stephen. Shane smirked when he saw a prize wrapped around her neck. "Nice job." She sighed, it didn't feel like it was a nice snatch, though her speed would say otherwise.

"It's from a five year old boy," she said, looking down at the ground in shame. Shane wasn't having that, he lifted her chin up so she'd look at him as he explained firmly.

"And that five year old boy should've been careful that he wouldn't let himself get mugged." Penelope looked back in the direction she ran from, as if contemplating to go back.

"He's five...he still believes that there's good in the world."

"Well he's a dumb kid if he thinks that," reprimanded Shane, shoving his hands in the pockets of his oversized jacket. "C'mon, let's get something to eat." He begins to walk, knowing that Penelope and Stephen would follow him. But before they could, Stephen stepped in front of her with a sympathetic look.

"I know how you feel," he said, hoping Shane didn't hear, "I used to have a little brother, before he..." He trailed off, hoping Penelope took the hint.

"Yeah," Penelope said, nodding in understanding with her eyes filled with tears again.

"But look, that little boy's parents could probably buy him a new _Doctor Who_ scarf." Stephen said with a smile.

"D-D-Doctor Who?" Penelope stammered excitedly, and watched as Stephen took out a flashlight and shined it on her new scarf so Penelope could see the design better. "Yep. I'd say that was a nice grab." He shut the flashlight off. "Now let's go eat, you'll feel better." Stephen ran to catch up with Shane, and Penelope almost wanted to stay behind. As she ran to catch up with them, she ran her fingers through the fabric of the scarf. Now she couldn't stop her tears from falling.

She liked _Doctor Who_ too.

* * *

 **A/N: Oof. That's chapter one! I just started my senior year of high school! I am planning on focusing on this story though to the best of my ability. Not entirely, since I have to finish LMHYW. Senior year is allegedly supposed to be a breeze compared to last year in my final term (when I was writing TTC) so I should be able to have more time.**

 **Reviews are greatly appreciated!**


	2. Old Friends

**Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds**

 **Hey so...I've gotten this many favorites and followers on one chapter! That has never happened to me before, so I'd like to thank you.**

 **28 favorites, 11 reviews, and 39 followers...I might start crying tears of joy :')**

 **Please review. Any feedback would be wonderful, and if there's anything you want to see :)**

* * *

 _One week later..._

The gruesome weather wasn't being particularly nice to those like Penelope—the ones that weren't able to stay in a room with heat, simply because they didn't have one. How she yearned to get away from the chilly snow that buried her feet—she didn't even have snow boots.

She, along with her friends Shane and Stephen, wished that they didn't have to work together in order to steal from people in order to provide for themselves. Food, water, clothes, money, etc,. It didn't matter. Originally, Penelope had a rule that she wouldn't steal from small children or the elderly, but that was a long time ago. Desperate times call for desperate measures, especially during the heinous winter season.

Penelope was dreaming about sitting next to a bonfire, soaking up as much warmth as she could before her dream ended. She placed her hands close to the fire, hoping to warm them up due to having no gloves. She sensed a group of other spirits surrounding her—making her feel belonged and happy, as they soaked up the warmth with her. She smelt freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, as well as smores with roasted marshmallows on the inside—a feeling of family. Just as she was handed a roasted marshmallow on a stick —

" _Pen! Penelope, wake up!_ We...we gotta run."

Penelope's eyes snapped open. Such dreams would never be a reality. Not for her, at least.

* * *

The first thing that Hotch heard was seven knocks on the door, in a rhythmic pattern that only he understood. Had anyone else been in the living room—with, maybe, the exception of Haley—then they would've looked weirded out by the childish rhythm and they wouldn't have known the person who was behind that door. Haley took Spencer to a therapy session that was scheduled, Derek was at a friend's, and Emily and JJ were in their rooms—something about french braiding?

Hotch smirked and opened the door to reveal a friend from lawschool. Well, he wasn't a friend at first, mainly since the legendary David Rossi was teaching him at the time, but since he'd graduated from law school, the two became close knit friends. Rossi had retired a couple of years back and had moved to Florida.

"David," Hotch greeted eagerly, immediately stepping to the side to let him in.

"Aaron," David greeted back, giving the man a hug.

"What brings you here? I thought you were in Florida?" Hotch asked him, watching that smug look on his face go wide.

"Oh yeah. I'm retired, you're not." Hotch playfully punched him in the shoulder as the two men sat down in opposite chairs of the living room. The older man continued. "I still am retired, but Florida is too hot sometimes. I missed the snow."

Hotch snorted. "You say that now until you have to go back to shoveling feet of snow outside." The two men shared a laugh, a laugh that the two are having together as good friends, pals, and the stress of not seeing one another for a while gone completely away.

"Well, I guess I'm going to have to get used to it." Once Hotch read inbetween the lines of what David was saying, and he realized it must've been true when he saw the large smile on the other man's face.

"You're moving back?" Inquired Hotch, almost in disbelief.

"Next door," David confirmed. "You didn't know your neighbors were moving?"

Hotch bit his lip. "We don't talk to our next door neighbors much." Or at all. They've moved next door with them a good seven months ago. They've given him and Haley the cold shoulder, because they had a bunch of kids—which was stupid, since everyone else on their block seemed to love them. So, as awful as it sounded, Hotch wasn't going to miss them at all, and gladly accepted the idea of his old mentor moving next door.

"So, how's Haley?"

"She's great—"

"Daddy! Who's at the door!? Who's at the door?! Who's at the door?!" A small high pitched voice came from upstairs. To David's surprise, the holder of that voice was running down the stairs excitedly. To him, she looked like a mini version of Haley—blonde hair and all. She stopped short when she didn't recognize the man Hotch was talking to. "Daddy, who's your friend?"

" _Daddy_?" Dave inquired, looking from JJ to Hotch. "I didn't know you and Haley had a kid."

Hotch chuckled weakly. "Yeah...it's a long story."

"Daddy didn't tell you?" JJ piped up. "He adopted me three months ago! And I've been living with them for almost a year now!" She goes up to Dave and grabs his hand in a firm handshake. "I'm JJ! Who are you?" Hotch tried to cover his smirk as the bewildered Dave was caught off by the sudden energy. She knitted her little brows together and faced Hotch. "Daddy does your friend talk?"

Hotch couldn't hold back his chuckle. "Yes he does."

Dave was still in shock. "Um...I'm Dave."

"Nice to meet you, Dave," JJ said.

"Erm...nice to meet you, too." Hotch have Dave a look that said 'We'll-talk-later.'

Another voice—a much older voice—caught Dave's attention. "Dad, the Wi-Fi is garbage, can you fix it?" The young girl—who looked to be about a teenager—looked nothing like the little girl, and she was calling Hotch 'dad' as well. "I need to call Tara about—whoah, who's this?" Emily stopped her conversation short when she came face to face with David Rossi. To him, she looked a little bit like Hotch—dark hair and all. Was she adopted too? It would've made sense, she's a lot older than the little girl, and he hasn't been retired for _that_ long.

"My name's Dave," he said, being polite, but was honestly confused by all this.

"Emily," she acknowledged for a moment, then she faces her father. "Dad...I know I don't ask for much—"

"You were asking dad a week ago for your own room," JJ interrupted.

"Well _besides_ that," Emily retorted to her sister. "—but the Wi-Fi? It's important."

"The Wi-Fi is always important," Hotch says, according to Emily.

Dave let out a small chuckle. "Hotch, you never told me you had _two_ daughters—"

"I'll save you the trouble, I'll keep it brief," interrupted Emily, beginning to go into a long explanation. "All four of us were in the foster system, and then we were adopted three months ago. Our lives before coming here sucked, but it's all good now."

JJ nodded enthusiastically while Hotch face palmed.

Dave didn't know whether to be amused by this blunt response, or sad because he didn't know their home lives that _sucked,_ as Emily put it.

Wait, _four?_

"F-Four?" Dave said aloud what he was thinking. Emily smirked at his shocked reaction. Damn, she loved doing that to people. Just as things couldn't get more confusing, a black boy of about eleven walked into the home.

"Hey dad," said Derek, stopping short when he saw Dave. "Ummm...bad time?"

"No, a good time actually," Hotch stepped in. "Derek, this is my friend Dave, he'll be moving in next door."

"Our evil neighbors are moving?!" Derek asked enthusiastically, with a wide grin across his face.

Hotch knew he should've corrected his son's behavior, but found himself turning the other cheek. "You said it, not me."

Derek eagerly shook the older man's hand. "You have no idea how much justice you have done."

Dave chuckled again, although a bit awkwardly. "Well, I'm glad to help?"

Finally, when the door opened once again, he _recognized_ someone, and that someone was Haley, who was holding a little boy's hand, Dave could only assume was the couple's fourth child. Haley didn't bother to hide her surprise when she saw him. "Dave?!" She let go of Spencer's hand ran over to him and gave him a bone crushing hug. "How are you?!"

Dave smiled. "I'm good, I'm good...so uh, I'm moving next door."

Haley's eyes go wide. "Really!? That's great news! I knew the Jensen's were moving, but I didn't think you bought their house!"

"Yep," he says, still smiling. "I was introduced to almost everyone."

Haley understood what he was trying to say inbetween The lines. "The three of us we'll catch up quickly," reassured Haley, she looks toward her husband. "Right?"

"Right," said Hotch. He knelt down in front of Spencer. "Spencer, do you want to meet a friend of mine?"

A small nod. "Sure." He makes eye contact with the man, who his mother referred as 'Dave'. He gave him a small wave. "Hello, I'm Spencer Reid Hotchner."

"Don't shake his hand or hug him," Emily whispered to Dave discreetly. He nodded and met the boy's eyes. "Hello Spencer, I'm Dave. Nice to meet you."

"Do you four mind if the three of us caught up on things?" Hotch said, and the children didn't mind, the loud and quick shuffling of eight feet running up the stairs and the sound of doors closing is what followed after he said that.

* * *

"I'll kick your little fucking asses!" A man screamed at the three homeless children after they stole food from a local grocery store. Penelope was realizing that maybe they've gone too far this time, since the man was chasing her, Shane, and Stephen down an alley with a baseball bat. "Stay away from my store!"

Penelope and Stephen hated when things came to this. It's not like they _wanted_ to steal, but the opportunity was so great. Shane on the other hand, loved it when they stole from stores. He loved the thrill and excitement of trying to run away when someone was chasing you. To him, this was a game. But what Shane really loved to do, was egg the people on. He was flipping off the old man as they were running with a smug smirk across his face. This, of course, made the man angrier. "Little pricks! Get back here!" This happened almost every time, a man shouting profanities at a bunch of kids for stealing, it was nothing new.

"Shane," Penelope said to him, as they were running. "You have to stop bugging them. Just steal and don't say a word."

"You'll get us pinched," Stephen informed, the old term confused Penelope and Shane.

"Pinched?" Penelope and Shane inquired.

"Arrested," Stephen clarified. "—and when we're arrested, they'll realize we're homeless and they'll send us to a shitty foster system."

"But it's fun," whined Shane, sounding much like a little child. Well, he was, but he was taught at a young age to grow up, and grow up _fast._

When the man eventually gave up and went back to the store, the three of them sat down on small garbage bags as if they were chairs and checked the food in the small baskets—their prizes. Stephen carried fruits—apples, oranges, and whatever else. Shane carried a bunch of junk food with him, and Penelope was more focused on staying hydrated with water.

Everything was put into the small baskets—as if it were their own little picnic.

"Guys," Penelope asked after a long time of silence, since everyone was focused on their meals. The two boys looked up as Penelope let out a sad sigh. "Will we ever find a family?"

Shane scowled bitterly. "You're joking right? This _is_ your family. No one wants a street rat. All people want are babies, not kids." Shane didn't even have to look to see Penelope's distraught face. "Sorry, Penelope, but it's true."

"You've heard about the system," Stephen said. "People are _paid_ to love you, and they can't even do that right."

Penelope drank another gulp of water.

Should she really stop dreaming?

* * *

"Alright, ask any questions you want," Hotch said, already getting comfortable in his chair after all his kids went upstairs. Haley was sitting on the couch beside Dave, trying her best not to laugh aloud at Dave looking stunned at the whole situation.

"What...how...when..." Dave sighed, struggling to form words of what to make of this. "You know what? Just start from the beginning."

"Okay," Haley started off calmly. "You know how Aaron and I have been trying for a while now. Well...we went to a doctor's office and it turns out I was infertile."

"I'm sorry," Dave said sincerely, but nodded her to go on.

"Yeah...so I was depressed for months. And...you know Kate Callahan? My best friend that works in CPS?"

Dave only nodded.

"She said that this girl needed emergency foster care, she was thirteen, and has gotten into a fight with her foster sister."

"Emily," applied Dave, doing the math.

"Yes, so I took her in."

" —without telling me," Hotch says with an amused smirk.

"...I regret nothing," was Haley's reply, equally as amused. "So...she was the first one to come here, and soon JJ came here—"

"The little blonde girl that looks like you," said Dave, making Haley laugh.

"People say all the time that she can pass as my biological daughter," she says, but she got back on track. "Her father's in jail. He um...abused JJ, and her mother currently has breast cancer. We keep in contact with the mother, but the father is long gone."

"That's...terrible," says Dave with a sour expression on his face. "Who was next?"

"Spencer, our youngest," Hotch supplied. "Quick question—did Emily whisper to you anything about Spencer?"

"Yes she did," Dave answered, wondering where this was going. "She said not to hug him or shake his hand." He paused for a minute, processing that information. "He's on the spectrum, isn't he?"

Haley and Hotch didn't say anything at first, but nodded their heads.

"Asperger's?" Dave pressed further. Both Haley and Hotch give him a lingering look and nod once more. This time, however, Haley speaks.

"Yes...but he's so smart. He reads books that I haven't read until my senior year of high school. He just can't read social cues and facial expressions. His mother is a schizophrenic who was instituted right after he came here. His father is no longer in the picture."

Dave wasn't going to ask many more questions. "And Derek?"

"He came after," Haley said. "The whereabouts of his father are unknown, but his mother was a drug addict who gave him up years before, and she turned up recently and tried to snatch him away."

"Look Dave," Hotch said, getting straight to the point. "I know this is a big shock, and that these kids have had horrible lives, but biological or not, these are our kids and we love them. It doesn't matter where they come from, but If you have anymore questions that you don't understand, ask us about it."

Dave was taken aback, to put it mildly. He saw the fierceness in Hotch's eyes with the way he talked about his kids. "I wasn't trying to say I didn't like them or the idea," he started off slowly. "I think it's a beautiful thing. Don't get me wrong—It's gonna take a while for me to see you as a dad."

Haley and Hotch smiled.

* * *

 **A/N: I hoped you liked this chapter. I never got to introduce Rossi in my first story, so I decided that now would be a good time for him to make his grand entrance.**

 **So on top of working on LMHYW, I've been working on another story in the making called Turmoils At Quantico High, which features lots of Criminal Minds characters set in a High School AU. As soon as I finish LMHYW, (Which is shortly) I might think about uploading the first chapter of TAQH.**

 **More info about that story on my profile.**


	3. Thanksgiving

**Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds**

 **A/N: Wow! I didn't think people would be up for a sequel! I'm gonna be a little honest, it's almost sad that this story within a week has more follows and favorites than LMHYW, but it's a sequel from my first story, so I shouldn't be surprised lol.**

 **Here's chapterr threee!**

Things were settling down. Dave successfully moved in next door to the Hotchner family. He was still retired from law, but planned on becoming an author of lengthy young adult novels. Hotch understood, ever since he was in his early twenties he knew that his old mentor had a knack for writing. Hey, maybe his oldest daughter could read his books and critique them. She loved to read, and she was brutally honest. What's not to like? Sure, Spencer loved to read as well, but he felt he was too young for the books he was planning to write.

He knows that Dave is a good guy, he is kind, he is intelligent, and he was always there for him and Haley. But even Hotch had to admit—Dave could be a wild guy. Dave told him stories about his old days back in high school and in college about the things he'd done. He wasn't disrespectful, he always treated women with respect, but he was a notorious prankster. Hell, back when Dave was a teacher he'd pull pranks on other professors.

Hotch figured Dave was like the fun uncle that would let the kids get away with anything.

The sanity in his home was fun while it lasted, though that's not saying much.

When the kids saw the Jensen's one final time, they all cheered as Mr. Jensen floored his car, with Derek cheering the loudest. For this to happen was equivalent to Christmas coming early. The phrase made sense, since Christmas wasn't coming for a month. The question though, is whether anyone going to really miss them. Here's the truthful answer:

Spencer may have thrown a snowball at his car.

Derek couldn't stop laughing.

Haley didn't find it amusing, and she sent glaring daggers to Derek and her husband who thought it was. Sometimes, Haley felt like she had five children.

"He told me too!" Spencer said, pointing his finger at Derek.

Derek gasped, his mouth wide open at the accusation. "What?! I did not! Kid, why are you telling lies, man?!"

"Boys behave or I'll ground you both," JJ said, doing an impression of Haley as well as she could muster.

Emily snickered and handed her a dollar.

Haley sighed at this exchange, but did she expect any less?

Thanksgiving was coming up shortly—the time for Dave to show up couldn't have been better. Haley had already started making the thanksgiving turkey, and was already planning what other meals she could make for her family. She just hoped it'd be drama free, but she should know better, drama is inevitable in the Hotchner family.

Though she wouldn't change it for the world.

* * *

Penelope woke up outside with her back against a large garbage can, and a small ratty blanket that only covered her legs. She heard the sounds of cars honking loudly, and the sounds of people shouting. In this neighborhood, this was the norm. Only when she looked around outside, she didn't see Stephen and Shane. What she did find, however, was a small note on a piece of cardboard in the alley they were staying at.

 _Finding cash._

 _We'll back soon._

 _Take care of yourself_.

~ _Stephen and Shane._

Penelope smiled a little bit to herself, she knew that Stephen always wrote these little notes. Out of the three of them, Stephen was the most literate. Although they can read and write, it was Stephen who understood the most.

Penelope sighed and rolled her eyes when she processed the note. How was she going to find a way to make some money today? Penelope figured she could steal some jewelry and sell it, but she's pretty sure people are on to her about that. _What to do...what to do..._

The wind harshly pressed against Penelope's skin, making her shiver. Ugh, it was only November! Why was the weather this bad? It wasn't even Thanksgiving yet, and Penelope was freezing as if it were the middle of January. Penelope was by herself, Shane and Stephen went somewhere to find some extra crash, so everyone would normally go their separate ways and meet up later. It was unsafe, but they were alone in the morning and afternoon, opposed to the night.

"Pssst...hey girlie," Penelope snapped quickly around to come face to face with an older man, who looked to be about in early forties. Penelope wasn't stupid, her reflexes have improved since she became homeless, a trait that was all too common. You didn't know whether you were going to be mugged, attacked, or whatever else. Penelope knew she had to be prepared for anything.

"What?" She heard the warning bells ring in her head as he smiled at her, showing his yellow teeth. She openly winced, having to bring her head up in order to look into his eyes.

"Twenty bucks," is what he said, "—for just a kiss on the cheek." Penelope gulped. This was something new that someone was asking her for. She heard the horror stories of what these things turned into. But...twenty bucks was a lot money. She had never seen a twenty dollar bill before in her life. When the man saw her not answering, he put his hands in his pockets, appearing annoyed. "Or...I can always call the foster homes, they can take you away, but I'm sure that's not what you want, right?" Penelope shook her head, she didn't want that. What was she going to tell Shane and Stephen?

The man grinned and pulled out a twenty. "Kiss me on the cheek."

She winced as she brought her lips to his cheek, her face going red as she felt his lips curl up into another twisted smile, but was satisfied when the man put a twenty in her coat pocket and walked away. Penelope reached into her pocket and stretched out the crumpled twenty dollar bill and looked at it with awe.

She met up with Shane and Stephen, who came up with a measly three dollars, at night. They sat down in their usual spot they've grown accustomed to, but the three of them knew that they'd have to bounce soon, since people may get suspicious and call CPS. Shane and Stephen showed Penelope the three dollars. "I figured we get one chocolate bar each, it's not much, but it's something," said Shane.

"What about you, Pen?" Stephen asked with a smile, still proud of the money they got.

Penelope grinned weakly and showed them the twenty dollar bill. Stephen gasped and broke into a very wide smile than before, the corners of his mouth reaching his eyes. Shane grinned and nodded in approval. "What did you do, dig up a gold mine?" He said jokingly, yet his voice held the curiosity of where the money came from. She felt her heart race, she was not about to tell them the truth of where the money came from.

"I went into a rich part of town," Penelope lied. "It fell out of someone's pocket." she set out to change the subject as quick as possible. "So how about those chocolate bars?"

Shane laughed uproaringly and snatched the bill out of Penelope's hands and bore his eyes into it. "With this—we can have a Thanksgiving feast!"

"That's tomorrow."

"—for tomorrow!" Shane echoed partially as soon as Stephen corrected him.

Penelope didn't know if she was truly lucky.

* * *

Tomorrow came, and Emily woke up early and offered to help her mother with making food for Thanksgiving. As soon as she met with Haley in the kitchen, she said:

"Alright, teach me how to not burn down a kitchen."

Haley took a couple of breaths in and out to steady herself. This was going to be a long Thanksgiving. Then again, she was thankful that Emily was helping her, and she'd be able to teach her while having a mother-daughter bonding time. She took out the vegetables, and handed her daughter and small knife. "Start with cutting the carrots," she says, "Then you'll work your way up. Just make sure you keep the knife away from yourself. With your left hand, make a fist and hold the piece of carrot down. You don't want to accidentally cut your fingers."

"Like this?" Asked Emily, as she cut the carrot slowly into even pieces.

Haley nodded, inspecting them with an approving smile. "Yes. That's perfect!"

"That's great—but when can I actually _cook_ stuff?" Inquired Emily, finding the process of cutting vegetables boring after a while.

"Cooking isn't just about popping things into an oven," advised Haley. "It takes time and patience, as well as cutting and chopping things up."

"Can I at least put something in a microwave?" Whined Emily, as if she didn't hear what her mother said. "I won't blow anything up, I promise."

Haley sighed, but nodded. "Well...I guess you can make Spencer's Mac 'N Cheese later, knowing that's probably the _only_ thing he'll eat." Emily grinned, and resumed her task of cutting vegetables. At this point, JJ had woken up, running into the kitchen.

"Good morning. Happy Thanksgiving!"

"Happy Thanksgiving," was what Emily said simply. Truthfully, she was more focused on her task to acknowledge anyone.

"Happy Thanksgiving, JJ!" Haley cheered, stopping her work to peck her on the cheek and give her a hug. "How'd you sleep?"

"Good," said JJ, peering over the table to see what Haley and Emily were doing. "Can I help?" Haley thought about it for a minute, something that could keep her busy and occupied.

"You can help us with afternoon snacks," answered Haley. "Get the box of Ritz crackers, and place them in rows of five, and in each row there's seven crackers."

"Thirty five crackers," JJ said knowingly.

"Good," praised Haley. "When you're done, I'll tell you what to do next." The little blonde girl nodded and did what she was asked.

"Emily," Emily looked up from what she was doing and noticed Haley brought out salami, ham, cheese, and turkey, all in small form that has yet to be cut. "Cut these into small pieces for the crackers. Five salami, five cheese, five ham, and five turkey."

"No problem," said Emily, starting with the ham.

* * *

"No, no, no!" Spencer cried in his sleep, twisting and turning in his bed so hard that Derek thought he was about to fall off. Thankfully, he had woken up in time to notice that his little brother was having a nightmare. He knew how Spencer felt about touch, it depended on the day, really. But he was praying that it wasn't a bad day when he reached to shake Spencer's shoulder. "Kid..."

Spencer shot upright, almost making Derek flinch by the sudden action, with his eyes wide and frightened. "Mommy!" Derek rubbed his shoulder soothingly, and was thankful when Spencer leaned into his comforting touch. "I'll get mom."

"You can't!" Spencer cried out, "She's not here! She's _away,_ remember?"

Oh.

Derek decided that now was a good time for a pep talk. "Well you saw her two days ago, didn't you? And..." Derek paused, choosing his next words carefully. "...Our mom arranged for you to write letters to her everyday, so it's not like you'll never see her again or hear from her."

"Yeah, but..." Spencer drew his knees to his chest. "It's still hard."

Derek nodded sympathetically. "I know, kid. I know." They sat in silence after that, he figured Spencer was trying to take a moment to understand his emotions and feelings. Whenever his emotions caught him, his therapist recommended that he sit quietly to reevaluate himself. After a minute, his eyes met Derek's, "Want to go in the living room?"

Derek nodded, staying quiet. For Spencer's sake, as well as his own.

* * *

"Penelope, wake up! It's _Thanksgiving!_ " Penelope's groaned as Shane oh-so cheerfully woke her up at what probably was minutes after he woke up. The only reason why he was so happy in the first place was because of the twenty that _she_ got over doing something disgusting, kissing a forty year old man. Not that she was ever going to tell them, of course. Still, she should wake up whenever the hell she wanted.

"We're going to McDonald's," Stephen stated while stretching.

"But...I don't like meat," Penelope protested tiredly.

"Get a side salad," Shane said, with some insensitivity. "–or those hash browns. They have good hash browns."

Penelope huffed but said nothing.

"I can't wait to get a nice Big Mac," grinned Shane.

This time, Penelope spoke. "It's too early for hamburgers, Shane. We should wait 'till eleven."

"Pen," Stephen said slowly, as if he were talking to a child. "...it's eleven thirty."

Shit. Had she slept through most of the morning? Why did she feel so tired?

"Oh," was all the plump blonde could say back. Penelope's gaze went back and forth from Shane to Stephen awkwardly. "Well...let's go, I guess." The three of them walked into McDonald's and ordered whatever they wanted, as long as their meals combined together were less than twenty three dollars. They savored their meals, enjoying the taste of them while it lasted. The three of them felt so satisfied and content, believing their money was well spent. Even then, they had some change left over—seventy two cents.

"We're going to collect bottles after this," Shane ordered the two, as he took another bite of his burger. "—If we collect enough, we might make more than a dollar and—"

"Could we finish eating first?" Stephen interrupted. "Kinda enjoying my good here, and we might as well enjoy it now, we don't know when our next meal is."

For once, Shane listened to Stephen, as they continued their Thanksgiving dinner in silence.

Thanksgiving at McDonald's.

Huh.

That's not unusual.

* * *

"Who makes _pasta_ for Thanksgiving?!" Haley argued with Dave in the kitchen as he was helping her with the turkey. "Seriously. I don't know _anyone_ who makes pasta for Thanksgiving."

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with pasta," Dave defended, pretending to be hurt.

"The pilgrims didn't eat it," supplied Haley. "But thank you for making it for us."

"You can take Dave out of Italy, but you can't take the Italy out of Dave," Hotch joked from the living room as he was watching a football game with Derek.

JJ was on the phone with Sandy, her biological mother. "Yes, so we are getting ready right now for Thanksgiving. The turkey is being brought in right now, but the rest of the table is set." –and what a beautiful sight it was. The table was decorated nicely with two candles on each side of it, surrounded by multiple foods, such as stuffing, chicken salad, roasted potatoes, various vegetables such as carrots, green beans, and squash. There were cranberries, mashed potatoes, and Spencer's Mac 'N Cheese on the side, of course. A large center of the table was empty, meant to be for the traditional Thanksgiving turkey.

"You know, Haley," Dave called, beginning to make a joke as he sat down for. "In a traditional Thanksgiving people had cigarettes and cigars—"

"Don't even _think_ about it, Dave," Haley shouted from the kitchen, yet she knew he was only teasing. "Dinner!" As soon as everyone was settled in their chairs, Haley walked in with the giant turkey and placed it at the center of the table. "Alright now before we eat—"

"Why's do we have pasta here?" Spencer interrupted. "It's not part of Thanksgiving tradition."

"And Mac 'N Cheese is?"

"Dave, don't argue with my five year old, trust me, he'll win," said Hotch.

"It is, by the way, I saw it on an episode of _Friends!"_

"JJ, you're eight, why are you watching Friends!?" Hotch exclaimed.

"How come _Emily_ gets to watch it?!" JJ whined. "The TV is in our room!"

Haley began to close her eyes and count down from ten.

"Emily, you're no longer allowed to watch Friends with JJ in the room," says Hotch.

Emily's mouth dropped wide open as she huffed. "This wouldn't be a problem if I _had my own room!"_

Haley didn't even get to seven. "Hello! This is _Thanksgiving!_ We have to say all the things we're thankful for as a family! Derek, you go first."

"Uh, I'm thankful for my family, and how I'm okay with sharing a room—"

"Derek, don't stir the pot," Haley warned. "Spencer?"

Spencer didn't look at anyone as he says, "I'm thankful for my Mac 'N Cheese, and also the pasta, even though it's not Thanksgiving tradition," He didn't notice Dave's horrified look as he continued, "But did you know that Mac 'N Cheese was actually—"

"Sweetie, we're gonna talk about that later, let's just finish saying what we're thankful for. JJ?"

The little girl smiled and held her head up high. "I'm thankful for Friends, family, drawing, and the food!"

Haley beamed. "Aw, it's nice that you remembered your friends!"

JJ made a face. "No. I was talking about the TV show, mommy!"

Haley and Hotch were speechless.

"Since everyone's too shocked to cue me to speak," Emily started off. "I'm thankful for the fact that I'm not in a shi–I mean _crappy_ home with nothing but converse shoes and a hoodie. Also...I am thankful for Friends, the TV show and my actual friends."

"...Very nice," says Haley.

"Make Dave go!" JJ shouted happily.

"Inside voices, JJ," Haley warned gently. "But I agree, Dave should go next."

Dave flashed her and Hotch an amused look. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Absolutely," said Hotch, chuckling.

Dave sighed at the fact that he had to make a speech. "I'm thankful for meeting all four of you, and reuniting with your parents."

Hotch went next. "I'm thankful for my wife, kids, and my best friend." All of the kids awed, except for Emily.

"Don't start kissing," Emily says, making a face.

"Haley and I aren't kissing right now, don't worry," Hotch said with a chuckle.

"I wasn't talking about mom, I was talking about you and Dave."

Haley covered her laughter with a snort.

Dave and Hotch were not amused.

"Haley...just," Hotch sighed, stopping his sentence for a moment. "—just go next so we can just start eating."

"Okay," Haley said, smiling and looking at everyone at the table with love and awe. " I'm thankful for my family. My husband, my children, and...an old friend."

"Are we done now?" Spencer said. "Let's eat!"

"Alright, dig in!"

0-0-0-0-0

 **A/N- Yes, lengthy. Very lengthy indeed.**


	4. The (Official) First Meeting

**A/N: I'm super sorry this took so long! I've been so occupied with my Quantico high school story in the making and school is just so annoying. I hope this chapter makes up for it.**

 **Also, I need to make a shoutout to a new Criminal Minds writer who wrote this awesome AU High School fic that I currently love. It's called _America_ by EvilRegal10. I enjoy it a lot, and please check that story out. **

**Here's chapter four!**

* * *

Penelope woke up at approximately at midnight. The only reason why she woke up was because she was _woken up._ She was woken up by the same man that visited the day before Thanksgiving. She stared at him, all wide and afraid as the man's yellow smile tore through her soul. She should've known that once a middle aged man visits you one time, he'll visit you another time, and another, and another, breaking into a vicious cycle that would be further known as sex trafficking.

"Hey, love," says the man, lifting up another twenty. "You know the deal."

In the back of Penelope's mind, she knew that this was just the beginning, that these kisses were going to turn into another things. That she was going to end up doing things that nine year old little girls should never, ever do. For now, these were kisses. But what Penelope was wondering was what was next? And...was she that desperate for a twenty?

That twenty taunted her, laughed at her.

Yes.

Yes she was.

* * *

As soon as Thanksgiving break was over, everyone had to go back to school. Spencer was in second grade, JJ in third, Derek in sixth, and Emily in ninth. No one was really eager to go except for Spencer. Even JJ wasn't all too excited.

"Do you know we _color_ less?" JJ sulked. "I have to focus on drawing on my own. Plus, art class is canceled for this whole week! That's the only reason why I go to school!"

Emily smirked at Haley. "That must be encouraging for you to hear."

"Delightful," Haley smiled back, pretending to be annoyed.

"Hey Derek," Emily said, spotting her brother walking into the room. "Are you excited for your cafeteria job?"

Derek groaned. "Am I really?"

"I put in a good word for you, you should be thanking me," said Emily, with a teasing smile. Last year in middle school, Emily volunteered in the school's cafeteria in the morning, just because the school offered an Archon award for service, as well as extra credit for whatever subject they wanted. Before she graduated, she talked the cafeteria workers into letting Derek assist them. Nepotism? Works like a charm.

"...I should," says Derek, smiling slightly. "Thanks. But I'm looking forward to eating most of the peanut butter sandwiches I know they keep in the back."

"Just don't get caught," advised Emily.

Haley sighed. "Do I even want to know?"

"Mom, school food is _free_ , so technically we're not stealing," said Emily.

"She's got a point there, mom," added Derek with a wide grin.

"Don't forget that I won't be home until later. Spencer has an appointment with Dr. Blake until 4:30. So please take your keys," Haley said to her children, sighing again.

"What about me?" JJ said.

"I'm picking you up and we're walking," answered Derek.

* * *

"Are you nuts?" Penelope asked Shane, sounding horrified at the idea he was suggesting. Stephen was just as afraid as Penelope was, but chose not to show it.

"They wouldn't expect a thing," says Shane. "We're kids, after all."

"Sneaking into the local middle school to get some breakfast?" Stephen asked, in a voice that clearly made him think that Shane was possibly insane. "If we're not recognized, then we're sure to get a CPS call."

"We'll be _separated,_ Shane," Penelope tried to emphasize. "And besides...I'm _nine, not ten."_

"Don't tell me you think they'll _seriously_ question your age?"

"How will we be able to leave the building, that's what I'm worried about," said Stephen.

"We will," assured Shane. "We just eat, then we floor it."

"Floor it," repeated Penelope. "Just like that? You make it sound so simple."

"Because it is," Shane said, as if it were obvious. "Now let's go, breakfast is soon."

* * *

"You know, Dave," Hotch started off, trying to work at his desk as his former professor walked around his office. "When you said that you wanted to see how I was doing, I didn't think this would turn into some big evaluation."

Dave smirked slightly. "Is that how I made you feel?"

"I feel like I'm a student," Hotch admitted with a joking chuckle.

Dave laughed too. "Sorry about that. It's just...I'm proud of you, you know that?"

Hotch smiled. Words that he never heard from his own father. "I couldn't do it alone."

"I'm waiting for your daughter to pop out and yell at us to kiss," Dave said, teasingly.

"I am _so_ sorry she said that."

"Eh, it's funny now, but it wasn't then," said Dave, dismissing the topic. "So, how are your cases?"

"So many."

Dave glanced at the files and gave out a low whistle. "This makes me glad that I'm retired."

"Shut up, old man."

* * *

"So wait, that's it?" Derek asked the cafeteria lady who was teaching him. "I thought I'd actually have to _work._ "

The lady's lips thinned. "Is this too easy, for you?"

Derek chuckled nervously. "I mean, _NOPE_! Ha, ha. An eleven year old like myself will hopefully figure out this task." The cafeteria lady said nothing, only nodding as Derek put syrup on the cheap school pancakes. Soon, students began to line up for these pancakes that Derek found himself wondering why they'd want them. He tasted a few, and they might as well shit on a tray and hand it to them. Seriously, they were _disgusting_. He was thankful that Haley's pancakes were the farthest thing from these pancakes.

The line got shorter and shorter, and he was about to stop working until he saw three kids, that he'd never seen before.

Except for one.

He didn't know how, but the girl looked somewhat familiar. Or maybe she, _felt_ familiar. The girl had pink glasses with blonde hair that reminded him of his sister JJ. She was a little on the pudgy side, and she...wore a Doctor Who scarf that looked much like his little brother used to have. On the other end, Penelope's heart was beating rapidly against her chest... not in a good way. She knew who this was, that was the brother of the boy he stole the very scarf she was wearing right now! Oh no, this is bad. This was really, really bad. "We have to go," she whispered to Shane, who only ignored her pleas.

"Stop," he whispered back, "We're scoring some food."

"Pancakes?" Derek offered, not taking his eyes off the pudgy blonde. All of them nodded eagerly as Derek put syrup on their pancakes and handed it to them on trays. Before Penelope could get herself out of there, Derek said to her, "I like your scarf."

Penelope wanted to die. "Th-thanks um, my br-brother bought it for me yesterday," she stammered as she lied to him. As quickly as she could, she rushed over to a table and began to eat, with Stephen and Shane following behind her, all of them not noticing Derek's confused yet concerned look.

"What is your problem?" Shane hissed, taking a mouthful of the pancake. "We got free pancakes and you want to _leave_?"

"That's the _brother,_ " Penelope said, as if that explained everything.

Stephen's brows furrowed. "Huh?"

"The brother of the little boy I _stole_ this scarf from. Why do you think he said, 'Nice scarf?' He's on to me."

"How do you know it's him?" Shane asked.

Penelope fiddled with her fingers nervously while glancing at Derek. "I...I just _felt_ it. The way he _looked_ at me. Once he spoke I knew it was him since I recognized his voice."

"Take it to go," said Shane, sighing.

And they left, with Derek continued to stare as they casually exited the school building.

* * *

After a long debate with between Haley and Hotch, they decided to see what would happen if Spencer didn't have a para for the remainder of the school year. They discussed this multiple times during the recent IEP meeting since school professionals mentioned Spencer was making dramatic leaps with Asperger's.

Still, Haley was a little nervous since it wasn't about his academic success, but his emotional stability. But it was noticed that Spencer didn't have a meltdown or what he would call, a Bad Day in a long time now.

Spencer liked the second grade, even if it was still unchallenging for him. Still, the class was learning how to add and subtract big numbers. The teacher was fully aware that Spencer was a bit bored in class, so she recommended that Spencer just finish the worksheets and she'll reward him eventually with a book. This system worked out perfectly, remaining focused and on task.

He was finished with the worksheet quickly and began reading his book at a fast pace. That is, until he heard one of the girl's in his class crying quietly to herself next to him.

Her eyes were red as she stared at her incomplete worksheet.

"Why are you crying?" He asked her, trying to keep his eyes on the novel and focusing on it. Truthfully, she was distracting him since she wasn't as quiet as she thought she was. To anyone else, they'd say that Spencer had highly sensitive ears, which was true.

"I'm _stupid_ , that's why," she murmured softly.

"...Is it math?" Inquired Spencer, still keeping his eyes on the book. He didn't see the little girl nod her head once, he waited for her to speak. "Do you...do you need help with the worksheet?"

"Y-Yeah," she stammered, trying to gain her composure as she shared her worksheet with Spencer. Finally, he put his novel to face that girl he never talked to, the girl he never made eye contact with until now.

She had brown wavy hair with bangs, her hair always pulled back into a medium length ponytail, yet there were two curls that framed her face perfectly.

"Sixty five minus thirty nine," Spencer read the first problem aloud. "What is it you're having trouble with?"

"You know how we're supposed to start with the ones side first and minus in a row? Well...I can't. You _can't_ minus nine from five."

"Actually you can but that'd be a negative integer and..." He stopped himself mid ramble, having a small sense that the girl was confused by what he was saying. "I'm sorry, I'm socially awkward and I'm...weird."

The girl gave him a small smile. "I don't think you're weird. You're nice."

Spencer saw her smile, like on the Facial Expressions Chart, and before he realized he should smile back, he found himself already doing it, because he _felt_ it. "Thanks, um, so in this problem, you add a one in front of the five, and that becomes fifteen, but you have to subtract one from the six in the tens place, and that six becomes five."

"So it's like borrowing," the girl clarified.

Spencer nodded. "Yes. And then you do fifteen minus nine instead and get six, then you subtract from the tens place, five minus three and you get two."

"So it's twenty six," she clarified again. She grinned at him, "Thanks. You're a really good teacher. Why couldn't Miss Mckenzie explain it that way?"

"We all learn in different ways and paces," Spencer replied.

The girl's smile grew big at his understanding. "I'm Maeve."

This time, Spencer found himself smiling again at her. "I'm Spencer."

* * *

Derek made sure to arrive at JJ's elementary school, picking her up on time. Still, his mind was a little frazzled from this morning's breakfast. That blonde girl from earlier, in particular. He swore he knew her from somewhere, he just didn't know where. And then, there was that scarf that looked so much like Spencer's. Plus, he had never seen her and those two boys in their middle school before. His mind was adding things up, but he couldn't be too sure. She could be saying that her older brother bought her that scarf, but he didn't know. He didn't know if this was the whole truth, or if there even was a truth.

"Derek?" JJ asked, grabbing his hand as they began to walk home. "What's wrong? You don't...look right."

Derek had his brows furrowed and his head down as they walked. "I just...I'm confused."

Now, JJ was confused. "What do you mean?"

"I think I..." Derek paused, wishing he was completely sure. "I think I met the person who robbed Spencer." He paused again, meeting JJ's horrified and critical eyes as he said: "And I think I let her get away."

* * *

 **A/N: I'm sorry that the scenes are very short and scattered, but like I said, I'm more focused on my Turmoils at Quantico High story that'll be out as soon as LMHYW is finished, (Which is soon, btw) so I'm sorry if this isn't as good as the previous chapters.**


	5. Are You Sure?

**A/N: Okay, so I'm super conflicted right now. For those of you who read LMHYW know that I post constantly about that high school story that's in the making, I know you must get tired of it. Here's my question: Should I post the chapter even before I finish LMHYW? I don't really know, so I'll let you guys decide. The summary and title for my HS story is on my profile. Have a look, maybe...if you want :)**

 **Thank you for all your favorites, follows, and reviews!**

 **I know this took a while, but college applications have been annoying me as of lately. Hopefully, this chapter makes up for it.**

 **Please review.**

* * *

"Hello Spencer, how are we feeling today?" Dr. Blake asks, smiling sweetly when his eyes met hers willingly.

"Good," Spencer said simply.

"Do you want to tell me how your day was?"

"It was good, I feel happy, like that smiley face on the Facial Expressions Chart." Ah, Spencer's beloved Facial Expressions Chart, always a lovely tool to have on hand. It was Spencer's go-to chart for when he couldn't understand the feelings of others. Sometimes, his family would help him together to go over emotions of people, based on the outcomes of events that have happened. Although everyone pitched in, it was JJ who loved helping him the most. What was Spencer's weakness, was JJ's strength.

He went on to explain his day. "I read three books today, I got an ice cream before mommy and I came here, I met a girl in my class, I did five geometry problems in my head, I-"

"Whoah, Spencer," Dr. Blake interrupted, her ear perked up at something that sounded a lot more extraordinary than the rest. "Back up a bit."

"I'm assuming you mean go back to your previous sentences, because that's not literal thinking, where I'd physically back up."

"Very good, Spencer," praised Dr. Blake. "Yes, I need you to say the last thing you said."

"Um, I did five geometry-"

"No, no. Not that," Dr. Blake said, although doing that _was_ extraordinary. "The one before that."

"I met a girl in my class. She hates math," answered Spencer. Dr Blake's eyes go wide with excitement when Spencer basically said he interacted with another person.

"It sounds like you made a friend," she said to him. "Is she a nice girl?"

"She cried because she couldn't add two digit numbers, but she doesn't think I'm weird, because I'm not. I helped her out and she smiled at me. I guess she's okay."

"She sounds very sweet," said Alex, smiling broadly. "What's her name?"

"Her name's Maeve," replied Spencer. "Maeve is a warrior name, but I don't think it suits her."

Dr. Blake quirked a brow. "Oh? How so?"

"Well, she cried," Spencer answered, as if that were to explain everything. "She cried because of something as simple as math, she sounded like she was about to give up on everything."

"Well, you _helped_ her, so she felt better?"

"I think so, she smiled, and smiling is good." Dr. Blake was ecstatic. For the past nine months, Spencer had not once mentioned the possibility of a friend, or meeting new people. She had discussed the idea of what a friendship was to him, but he was busy counting to himself. Maybe, just maybe, this Maeve girl Spencer spoke about could be a keeper, maybe she could be his best friend.

* * *

"What are we going to do?" JJ asked after Derek told her about his assumption.

"Well, we have to tell _someone._ Mom is out, dad is out, and Emily is...maybe Emily is home early today," answered Derek, he sighed and rubbed his head. "This is making me anxious. Maybe...Maybe I'm _wrong-"_

"Miss Strauss told me to go what you feel inside," said JJ, referring to her therapist. "If you think you saw her, then _say_ it, or else I will instead."

"I don't think so," said Derek, shaking his head. "They'll believe me more than you."

"Hey," JJ started off defensively, "I'm not a little kid anymore."

"I have two digits in my age, JJ. Do you? No. You're eight." Derek wasn't intentionally trying to be mean, he was more so trying to prove a point on why he should say something over her.

JJ huffed and crossed her arms. "I hope they'll believe you."

"They will," said Derek, opening the door to notice that it was unlocked, meaning Emily was home.

"Hey squirts," Emily said, already knowing it was her siblings who entered without looking up from her phone. "Was learning fun?"

Derek shut the door behind him, being blunt as he said, "We found the guy, or should I say _girl_ , who robbed Spencer." This time, Emily looked up her phone with wide eyes piqued with interest.

"I'm sorry, _what?"_ She asked, hoping that she didn't hear that right.

"You heard what I said." God wasn't on her side that day.

Emily sighed. "And you know this how?"

"She came to my school, with that scarf he had," answered Derek. "She was getting breakfast with two other boys, I've never seen them in the middle school before."

"Well that bitch is going to feel my wrath," Emily said, clenching her fists. "What does she look like?"

Derek's stomach churned. "She's plump, blonde, has bright pink glasses..." he trailed off, feeling an odd feeling go through his body. It was not a good one. And it was clearly visible, he looked very troubled on the outside enough for his big sister to notice.

"What's wrong?" Emily immediately asked.

"I don't know, _something_ isn't right," Derek said, barely above a whisper. "I get a vibe from her that something really bad is happening to her."

"That doesn't matter," Emily said bitterly. "Who the hell cares?"

All of a sudden, and he didn't know why, Derek felt a wave of protectiveness toward the girl. "Wait, what? Why..."

"Why _what_?" snapped Emily. "Do you think that's a valid excuse to steal and treat one of our family members like shit? _Especially_ our baby brother?"

Derek was started to get angry. "I thought you'd understand."

"I'm sorry, _what?"_ She says for the second time that day, except with anger in her eyes. JJ bit her lip, sensing another fight between his brother and sister. "I understand? Yeah, since all of us came from shitty places. So that gives me the right to steal and do whatever the fuck I want?"

"No, that's _not_ what I'm saying," Derek said, raising his voice. JJ not-so-discreetly took the phone and ran up the stairs. She remembered Hotch and Haley talking to her, Spencer, Emily, and Derek about memorizing phone numbers, and to call Dave if neither of them were around. JJ closed her eyes and began to recite the number in a form of song, it was how she was able to memorize it. She dialed the number and anxiously waited for the other line to pick up.

"...Hello?" The warm and friendly voice of Dave's almost calmed JJ down. Almost. Not quite.

"Dave?" JJ spoke nervously, with reluctance. "You know how mommy and daddy said to call you in an emergency if none of them are here?"

Now Dave was on high alert. "JJ, what's wrong?"

"Derek and Emily are fighting downstairs, and...I don't know, it's all very mixed up. Can you just...please come?"

Silence on the other line for only a moment, before: "I'll be right over."

Thankfully, Dave kept his promise. Well, it would be very hard to break it, since he did live next door.

Meanwhile, downstairs, the argument wasn't getting any quieter. The two siblings almost didn't hear Dave knock on the door.

"Great, now Dave's pissed off, good job, genius!" snapped Emily.

Derek flashed his eyes angrily at her. "Well maybe if you had some compassion-"

"Compassion? To the girl that made Spencer cry? I don't think so-"

The two were cut off as Dave let himself into the house, since his knock wasn't answered. "Look, fighting isn't going to-"

Unfortunately for Dave, he was not used to the fact that he wouldn't get a word in.

"You know Emily? You're kind of a hypocrite," snapped Derek. "You talk about how we had shitty lives and stuff, but now you're kind of acting like the people you used to hate. Like Christine."

"Don't you dare mention her name!" Emily roared.

 _"Enough!"_ Derek and Emily turned around to see Dave looking completely shocked, since Haley just arrived and was the one who shouted that loud while holding Spencer's hand. Dave took a step back and looked up to the ceiling, silently thanking god that he wouldn't have to intervene, at least not yet. Haley faces Dave with a weak smile. "Thanks, Dave. I'll take it from here."

Dave had never run so fast in his life.

"Come on, Spencer," JJ said from the top of the stairs. "Chutes and Ladders?" Spencer let go of Haley's hand and went up the stairs to play the board game.

"Great, let's talk, because I, along with everyone else, is tired of the Emily vs. Derek battle that happens at least once a week."

Naturally, of course, Derek and Emily speak at the same exact time, as always.

"...Emily thinks she's so perfect-"

"Derek doesn't realize that some people can't be rehabilitated-"

"Oh you shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

"Whoah, whoah, whoah," Haley shouted over them. "One. At. A. Time."

Chaos.

Even more shouting.

"Did you not hear me say one at a time?" Haley sternly scolded, she faces her daughter. "Emily? Can you give me the synopsis, please?"

"Derek thinks he found the girl who robbed Spencer, but he feels _sorry_ for her."

Haley looked at Derek expectantly.

"I'm just saying, I have a bad feeling! What if there's something wrong. What if... What if she's like us?"

" _She?"_ Haley inquired surprisngly.

"Did you just compare her to _us_?" snapped Emily, ignoring her mother's question.

"Both of you, calm down," Haley ordered. "There's nothing we can do about it now. The one thing we can hope is if we ever see her again, _then_ we can talk to her."

"Can we put her behind bars?"

"No, Emily, she's not going to jail for stealing a scarf," answered Haley. "How old is this girl?"

"Well, I saw her at my middle school," said Derek, feeling queasy inside. "She went to get breakfast, but then she ran. She looked incredibly guilty."

Haley tried to think for a moment, but found that she couldn't. She didn't want to say she agreed with Derek on having a bad feeling about this girl, it would go back to square one in terms of chaos and fighting.

"Something isn't adding up," said Haley, frowning.

* * *

It was happening again. Oh god, it was. Penelope hated the fact that she woke up early in the middle of the night on the same corner. She begged Shane and Stephen if they could move to another area, claiming that she could sense being taken away. But really, though, she was wondering: Would it really be the most awful thing in the world if she was taken away? What if...by some miracle chance she was taken into a _good_ home? What if... by some random chance, that her own parents would want her back? But no...right now this wasn't the case. Here she was, standing in front of a child predator. Each time, he'd say the same thing: "Twenty for a kiss?"

She, again, was petrified. But sadly, she had grown used to doing that after a period of time. As they kissed, he slipped a twenty in her coat before breaking away.

"...Penelope?"

She snapped quickly behind her out of instinct, seeing Stephen look at her with worried eyes. "...Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she lied.

Stephen sat down next to her. "No you're not. You think I don't know what's going on?" Penelope's heart began to race as he went on. "C'mon, Pen. All of a sudden you have $20 in your pocket every night? I saw you with that creep, and I know you hate doing it, so just say no."

"I can't say no," Penelope said sadly. "He threatened to send us to foster homes, to separate us. Plus, we never had this much money before. We're actually starting to look a little healthier, Stephen. Sure, I'm not stick thin, but you are, _Shane_ is. I'm doing this for _us._ "

"I know, but is it really healthy for you?" Stephen said concernedly. "Your health matters too."

Penelope gave him knowing wrathful look. "You think Shane gives a damn about my health?"

Stephen didn't deny it.

She looked away, muttering a bitter, "That's what I thought."

Stephen was silent, hesitating before saying: "I just don't approve what you're doing, and if there was another way you could make money instead of doing this, I'm sure you would."

"Without a doubt," agreed Penelope.

"You...you know how ugly this could turn out to be, right?" Stephen asked, hoping that Penelope wasn't so naive. She nodded silently as he continued egging her with questions, to make sure she was okay with this. "You know the dangers, risks, horror stories, etc?"

Again, Penelope nods, like she was certain. "Yes, I know."

But did she really?

* * *

 **A/N: Yes, I'm sorry. There's no Hotch in this chapter, but you can count on him being in the next one, though.**


	6. Intuition

**A/N- So I've recieved an anonymous reviewer that said that if none of the kids wanted Penelope here, then Haley and Hotch shouldn't bring Penelope into the house. Well, the other kids don't know what Penelope looks like other than Derek, now do they? :-) Oh sure, they've got an accurate description of what she kind of looks like, but they have never seen her.** **Also, saying that they have four kids and don't need another? Not to be rude, really, I would've messaged this user privately if s/he isn't a guest, but the whole point of this story is to introduce Penelope like I intended to since I couldn't in my previous story. I hope that clears things up for you :)**

 **Also, I'm really sorry that this took so long to update. I've been looking at colleges, lately, and it's been taking up a lot of my time.**

* * *

The whole incident was forgotten about after a week. Derek had not seen Penelope in that said week, and everyone else had moved on with other things going on in their lives. It was unsurprising, at the very least. Hotch and Haley knew that it was unlikely that anyone would really do anything about a girl who took something away from their youngest son. At the very most, they'd have a word with the girl's parents. However, Hotch has heard of many instances where parents didn't seem to care, were absent, physically and/or mentally.

That's similar to what happened with their own children. Their parents were absent or dismissive in some sort of way. Spencer's mother, although he visits her monthly, unless on special occasions, was a paranoid schizophrenic who unintentionally abused Spencer. Her mental illness did not change the way she felt for her child, but it did effect his safety. Emily's biological parents passed away when she was ten, and with no living relatives to take care of her, she was in the foster system for three years, where she was either treated horribly or neglected, sometimes both. JJ's parents were abusive, well...her mother was dealing with her cancer, and still is. Derek's mother was an addict, and willingly gave up her son to the system when he was three, where he also bounced back and forth between families.

The point is, there were no boundaries, and Hotch and Haley had to make sure that they adjusted to a place where they'd always have a home, a place of boundaries. No one was going to run wild in the neighborhood on Hotch's watch, especially his own kids.

Hotch sighed as he looked at the paperwork that seemingly grew larger and larger, though he knew in the back of his mind that wasn't possible. Haley was out with Kate and he was stuck with 'babysitting duty' as Dave called it, who just so happened to be right next to him. When Haley said that Dave was coming over, Emily laughed and said that Haley's affection for Hotch would never beat the "bromance" of Hotch and Dave. Hotch would be very annoyed himself, but Dave joked and said that they're still going strong.

"No, I get the computer!"

Emily's shriek interrupted Hotch's thoughts.

Hotch and Dave turned around to see Emily looked very ticked off as Derek rushed to the computer and play games. "Oh _come on_ , you always get the computer!"

"Um, no, I don't!" Emily argued with her brother. "You got it yesterday, and the day before, and I actually need to use it for homework! You just want to play Fortnite!"

"Hey, there is _nothing_ wrong with Fortnite!"

"It's overrated and stupid!"

"It is not!"

"It is _too_!"

"Hey, hey hey," Hotch intervened before a full fight over something pointless took place. "Derek, Emily is right. You had the computer yesterday and the day before, and she needs to use the computer for her homework." Derek sighed and stalked up the stairs in frustration.

Emily smirked and went to computer. "Now if I can get my own room..."

"Don't push it," Hotch warned lightly, with an amused smile. "We said we'd think about it." She was silent for a few minutes, giving him time. Until:

"Are you done thinking about it?" Emily pushed with a teasing grin.

"Just go on the computer," Hotch ordered quickly, mildly annoyed that Dave was laughing loudly. He faced his former professor. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Immensely," was Dave's answer. "This is making me glad I don't have children."

"Please Dave, you love us," JJ said cheerfully. "Mommy even said so."

* * *

"Kate, you've been quiet all day," Haley said at Kate during their dinner at a restaurant. "What's going on?"

Kate sighed, messing her food around with her fork. "It's horrible. Why do parents become parents when they have no desires for children? And then...there are those who can't become parents but really want children."

Haley nodded, being the latter choice. "Yes, I understand, but I got my wish."

Finally, Kate stabbed her lettuce with her fork and began to eat it. "I know, you have your own little family but..." she trailed off, looking sadder by the minute. "You can't save everyone."

Haley nodded in understanding. "You're beginning to realize that, and that's why this is hurting you." Kate nodded, without saying a word. Haley reached over and squeezed Kate's hand in hers and went on. "Kate, I'll always be here for you, you know that right?"

"Of course," Kate confirmed, putting up a weak smile. "But...this job doesn't get any easier. Haley, how do you do it? You adopted four kids that were in the system or came from horrible lives, how do you put up with the tragedies?"

Haley was silent for a moment, until she looked at her best friend with confidence and firmness. "We take things one step at a time, Kate."

* * *

Derek was annoyed when Emily got the computer, but that feeling washed away when he saw his little brother in his room, sitting on the floor and staring at it in intense focus.

Immediately, Derek becomes concerned. "Spencer?" He gets no response. That was not good. Derek sits across from Spencer, hoping that he'll get some response of some sort.

"Talk to me, kid." A small good sign, Derek receives a nod, a nod that meant he acknowledged Derek's presence. "You can't talk?" Spencer shook his head no.

Derek understood. "You know I can't leave you by yourself if you're like this, right?" Again, there's no verbal response, Derek gets a nod.

At least Spencer was able to process this information. Sometimes when he got his shutdowns he didn't speak or he kept himself in a bubble where he couldn't hear other people, the senses driving him into overdrive. Derek just sits with Spencer, waiting with him until Spencer would eventually open up on what was on his mind.

He always does.

"So, kid," Derek says, trying to make a conversation even though Spencer wouldn't answer. "How's your friend doing? What was her name now?" He still doesn't get an answer. Sighing, he thinks about giving up, since Spencer really was intense when it came to his shutdowns. But then, it was Derek's turn to be surprised.

"Maeve," Spencer said quietly. "Her name is Maeve, and it means warrior."

Things are taken one step at a time.

* * *

"Something's wrong," muttered Shane, gazing at the dark night from their usual spot. "We need to go."

"What?" Penelope asked, although usually when he suggested moving to a new location, she never questioned him. "Why?"

" _Because_ ," Shane emphasized. "I just feel it."

"You feel it?" Stephen asked him, though his voice was laced with doubt. "You just have intuition?"

"I don't know what that means, Stephen, but sure," replied Shane. "But we need to go, okay? Like, right now." No one doubted his intentions any further, when a man with a black hoodie appeared, his face covered with a black mask except his eyes. Those eyes...that had a familiarity to them. Not good ones, though, more like eyes that were hated. Still, that's not what was being focused on, when Penelope noticed what was in the man's hand: a handheld gun.

Immediately, all of them ran like hell, not looking back once to see if he was chasing them. He was chasing them, though, and his legs were longer and faster.

" _HEY_!" The figure shouted.

In that moment, Stephen wished he could turn back time. He wished that he didn't _actually_ turn around, because now he felt like a fool. This is the one time that he should've listened to one of Shane's many rants and speeches, such as never stopping when someone was chasing you. Something in his foolish mind told him to turn around and face the masked man, and that had consequences. A deadly one, as a matter of fact.

When Penelope heard the gunshot, she stopped and rushed over to where it happened, forgetting about her own safety.

Shane on the other hand stopped momentarily, accessed what just happened, before running even faster.

After the gunman made the shot, he ran in the other direction.

And then there was Stephen, his eyes wide as he gazed at his new wound, before falling backwards on the cold concrete floor. Penelope gasped in fright as Stephen coughed up blood, clearly in discomfort and pain. "Stephen! Can you hear me?" She gets a groan in response. She notices how his eyes were beginning to close, and Penelope wasn't about to let that happen. _No, not him._

" _Stop_!" Penelope screamed in fear, trying to slap Stephen to keep him conscious. "Don't you dare close your eyes on me! Keep your eyes on me, because you're not going to die!"

Stephen didn't say anything at first, he could only wince and groan as the blood oozed from his stomach wound.

"Stephen! You're going to make it! Help is coming." Penelope wasn't sure about that last line. Because right now, she heard no sirens. She heard no one calling 911, she heard nothing but the silence of unpleasant darkness and her heart beating rapidly in anxiety as she tried to stop the blood with the Doctor Who scarf that she stole a while back. "Stephen, stay with me!"

"D-do y-you think I'll see my brother?" Stephen croaked to Penelope, feeling his eyes droop and his body go cold.

Penelope's tears were not invisible anymore, dripping onto Stephen's wound. All hope was lost in that moment, since Penelope realized no one would save _them_ , people like _them_. Why would anyone save a street thug? Why would anyone save a street rat? There is no hope, perhaps there never was. "I know you will."

"I can't see you, Penny," Stephen groaned, squinting to get a glimpse of her face. "Are you there?"

Penelope grabbed his hand. "I'm right here."

Stephen was breathing heavily as his body got colder and colder. "I want you to be the last thing I see, before I see my brother."

Penelope nodded in understand, gripping his hand tightly. "I'm right here, I'm not leaving."

Slowly, Stephen's breathing started to slow down, and his grip loosened on Penelope's hand tremendously. Neither of them had heard the sirens, the two were focused on each other to notice the chaos and the people surrounding them. Stephen grinned weakly at the full sight of Penelope. In that last second of living, he prayed silently for her to get her dream, to achieve great things, and to survive with the power of her good heart. He breathed his last, before he began to drift away into death's arms.

Death wasn't kind.

Penelope let out an anguishing scream. She was forever alone. Shane was MIA, and now Stephen, the logic and brains behind their homeless adventures, was dead.

Death wasn't kind.

Immediately, CPS was called.

Someone tried to guide Penelope away from Stephen's lifeless body, but that made her scream more. "No! Don't take him away from me! He's all I have left!"

Death wasn't kind.

Penelope was lead to the police station by a nice woman, but she was still in extreme grief over her friend's death.

Still, she never felt so warm in her life.

That didn't mean that death was kind, because it wasn't.

* * *

"What do you mean no one would want to take her?!" Kate snapped over the phone, her anger boiling like lava. "Just because she was homeless?" She couldn't bare to listen to all the excuses that the person on the other line would give her. "Don't even. I will find this girl a home!" Angry, she hung up on the person, surprised she didn't keep them on the line to hurl any last minute insults. _The nerve of some people..._

Kate sighed, beginning to dial a number she never thought she'd have to dial for these things ever again. "Haley, it's Kate..."

* * *

 **A/n: Yep, I went there. I'm sorry for that tragic ending with Stephen's death. Also, again, I know the scenes were very, very short. But they're little snippets that'll lead to future events.**


	7. A Collective Choice

**A/N: Alright, alright. I know I haven't updated in god knows how long. Lately, my update schedule has been out of whack, because of other things going on, senior year, etc,.**

 **Thanks for all the alerts/favorites/reviews! I love them so, so much and I'm glad you guys are showing interest in the sequel! If you haven't noticed, I changed the cover! One of my friends drew this for me, and although she doesn't have a fanfic account, I'm gonna say her name anyway. Brieanne, you rock, thank you so much!**

* * *

 _"Haley? It's Kate..."_

Haley's stomach dropped. This voice sounds urgent. This voice that Kate used, was used a total of four times. This was the fifth time, and Haley and Hotch made it perfectly clear that they were happy with their four children. Still, she wanted to hear this story. Haley excused herself from the dinner table and paced lightly back and forth. "Kate? What's wrong?" Hotch's eyebrows knitted with confusion and concern, along with their children who looked up briefly while silently eating their meals.

"Kate?" Haley asks again, after she hadn't gotten an immediate answer.

The other person on the line sighed. "Look, I know that you guys are done fostering, and you have your own family, but...you know how I told you how times are getting desperate and how children are finding less and less homes?"

Haley knew where this was going. She always did. "...Yes?" She wanted to hear it herself. "Give me a second, don't hang up." She covered part of the phone with her hand and said to her family, "Excuse me." She uncovered the phone and climbed up the stairs to her bedroom. "Tell me Kate, what is it?"

Kate sighed again, proceeding to go into a long explanation. "There's this girl, she's nine years old, and she's been homeless for the past six or seven months."

" _Homeless_?" Haley said, sounding horrified. "How...where are her parents?"

"Her parents perfectly made it clear that they didn't want her. They're facing serious charges for severe child neglect. Basically, they threw her out on the street." Haley waited for her to continue, somehow, she knew there was more to the story. "One of her...friends, it seemed, was shot in front of her. She tried and tried calling for help, but no one would listen and her friend passed away. She's pretty shaken, I never seen anything like this in my life."

Haley's heart ached for the girl she didn't even know. "That's terrible."

"Yes, I know," Kate said, clearing her throat. "But...my point is, do you think that you can take her for a few days before she gets settled into a new home?"

There it was. _That's_ what Haley knew what was coming. The blonde mother was a little reluctant. "I don't know, Kate...we've just settled in with our new neighbor, and school's been getting busy, and—"

"It's for a few days, I promise," reassured Kate.

Haley grinned wryly. "You said that about Emily too, don't you remember?"

"Okay, I can see why you're hesitant," Kate said in understanding. "But this girl, she's been rejected so many times by other families that I've lost count in this hour. Please, Haley, I _promise_ it'll be for a few days if you get tired of her."

Haley sighed and rubbed her temples with her free hand. The thought of a homeless girl at the tender age of nine freezing in this weather, it must've been awful. Then again, she shouldn't make a rash decision like she did those other times. Sure, those decisions were the best decisions of her life, but her family came first, and she needed to make sure they were safe. "Can you give me time to think about it?"

Haley heard Kate's disappointed sigh. "Alright, call me ASAP, please?"

"I will." The latter hung up the phone, burying her face in her hands. "Ugh, what to do..."

* * *

"So, I'm rejected again for the twentieth time, I think it is?" Penelope asked Kate, who was still waiting at the station as she watched Kate for almost an hour try to contact various foster homes.

"No, you weren't. This couple needs a moment to think about it, that's all," Kate tried to reassure Penelope, but even she started to lose a little hope for her. That has never happened in any moment of her career. Yes, there were many kids that were rejected from homes because they were either disabled, emotional disturbed, or any other excuse the family could think of. Kate, however, never felt so sorry for a girl, a _child_ , who was homeless for such a long time. Prejudice against the homeless existed, and children were apparently not exempted from that.

"No one wants me," said Penelope, looking down at her battered shoes. "No one wants a homeless girl, no one. I'm a street rat, right? A thug. People don't take in people like that, you know." Her words stung Kate's heart so badly, it just wasn't fair. Life wasn't fair to this girl, and though Kate was losing hope as the clock ticked and got later and later, she said: "Have a little faith."

"Do you know who Shane is?" asked Penelope, looking desperate. "He was also my friend, but he went missing after the shooting. I don't know where he went, and I'm worried."

"I'm sorry, sweetie," Kate said sympathetically. "I've met many kids, and you're one of the bravest I've ever met."

* * *

There was a lot going through Haley's mind as she got that phone call. Yes, although that was a sad story, didn't all foster kids have some sad story or background? Haley couldn't just accept that story at that moment, not right now when her dream of a family was filled, but what if this little girl had the same dream? But at the same time, she didn't even know the girl's name! How would this nine year old girl's dream be filled if she was moving from family to family?

As much as Haley wanted to make sure she got a nice warm meal and a good shower, she had to think of her own family first. Don't get her wrong, Haley would absolutely take her in temporarily, but it was the rest of the family's opinion that mattered just as much as hers, if not more.

If Kate was truly struggling with foster home placements, Haley should've known that she would've eventually come to her for help. Even when she and Hotch made it clear that they weren't going to have more foster kids, that four was enough. Right after Derek was taken it, that's when Hotch drew the line to Kate, which she accepted without a problem. Now, however, things were changing, things were evolving and devolving, and Haley didn't know how to feel about that.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts of the future. "Haley?" She turned around to see her husband watching her in concern. Hotch wrapped his arms around her neck from behind her. Haley's face only relaxed a little bit, since her thoughts were still racing. "Haley, what is it? The phone call?"

"Kate's really stressed out, and it's making _me_ stress out," Haley explained. "Aaron, we're good people, right?"

Hotch gave an amused chuckle to lighten the mood. "I'd like to think we are, no, I _know_ we are." He was more concerned that she didn't laugh at his attempt to make light of things, which only made him more worried. His voice is serious. "Haley, what's wrong?"

She sat down on the bed and gestured him to sit next to her, which he did, as she beat around the bush of the topic. "Remember when Kate told me that a lot of kids weren't getting into foster homes lately and how things have been tight?" Hotch nodded, signaling that she should go on. "Well...Kate is very desperate, it seems, and she can't find this little girl a temporary home, who's been rejected by many foster homes based on the fact that she was homeless."

"How old is this girl that she was homeless?" asked Hotch.

"Nine years old," replied Haley, and even Hotch felt a pang of sympathy. "Aaron, can you imagine being homeless for six months as an eight or nine year old?"

"Can you imagine a child under the age of eighteen being homeless, _period_ ," said Hotch, with a shake of his head. "What happened to her parents?"

"Her parents made it abundantly clear that they wanted nothing to do with their daughter, and yes, they're paying the price for neglecting their child," Haley said, sensing what questions may come her way.

"Good," Hotch said firmly. Silence fell between them, and Hotch gave his wife a knowing glance. "She asked you to take in the girl, didn't she?" His voice is neutral, not sounding hostile.

Haley nodded silently. Hotch continued, "Well, what'd you say?"

"I said I'd have to think about it," she answered. "I wanted to check in with you first, what do you think? This girl has been neglected for god knows how long, I just—"

"Haley," Hotch said firmly, but softly after seeing his wife's eyes go wide with sadness and fear. "Breathe, Haley." She did so, closing her eyes as she composed herself. "You're overthinking it."

"Am I really though?" Haley said sadly. "She watched her friend die, Aaron."

Hotch's eyes went wide briefly before returning it to its normal state. "That's...that's awful."

"That's how she was found," said Haley. "The point of the matter is, what do I do? Should we take her in?"

"Haley, listen," Hotch said calmly, because someone had to be. "I love you, and you're a good person, and since you feel so strongly about this, I'm okay with this. But...I don't think it's about what we think, I think it's a family decision. Our kids should know what's happening, and what's going on."

Haley nodded in agreement. "Right."

"Their opinions are important, it's not like they're foster children anymore, they're our kids, they're adopted, but they're our kids," began Hotch. "We're a family. If we're going to bring in a foster child into this home, we need to see if they'll be okay with it." He felt Haley's hand touch his, grabbing it so they could go downstairs and talk to them. She ushered him of the bed and down the stairs, where their children were looking at them with what could be curiosity, concern, or maybe both.

Their dinners were finished, which was also a good thing.

Emily pretended to look all serious. "Are you two getting a divorce?"

"Statistics show that fifty percent of all marriages end in divorce," added Spencer, looking up from the table.

"No, we're not getting a divorce," said Hotch, resisting the urge to roll his eyes in front of her. God, sometimes he could understand why Emily rolled her eyes a lot, it could be somewhat satisfying. "But we have something to discuss with all of you."

"Everyone to the living room on the couch," ordered Haley, which everyone did so, following Haley and Hotch. As soon as they sat down on the couch, Haley began to speak. "Remember when Kate brought you guys here? The worker from CPS?" All of them nod, not knowing where this was going. "Well, I've just received a call from her."

"No way," Derek immediately said, frightening Haley as she thought he had deduced what was going on. "She cannot split us up, we're not foster kids, we're adopted!"

"Derek, how many times have we told you that you guys won't be split up?" Hotch asked, though it was a rhetorical question. "That's not why Kate called. That'll never be why Kate will call."

"What is it then, spit it out, because you guys are making me nervous," JJ said, feeling herself tense up. " _What is it?_ "

Haley didn't want to explain herself again, Hotch saw that in her eyes, so he took over. "There's a girl, who is nine years old, who's been homeless for around six months. We don't know her name, we just know that she was homeless and is nine years old, and that some horrible things have happened to her. She's been rejected from many foster homes based on the fact that she's homeless. Now," he paused. "Things are different. You four are adopted. Legally, we're your parents, not by blood but heart, and that's all that matters."

"Dad, you know that I think that's very moving and touching, but please, just get to the point," That was the impatient voice of Emily.

"We're asking all of you, if you think that's an okay decision, if this girl stays with us just for a little bit, before she finds a more permanent solution," Haley said, finally speaking up about this topic. "We're family, and we'll decide this together as a family, because your feelings matter too, your opinions _count_."

Silence.

It was like time stood still, no one knew exactly what to say to that.

Looking at their children, they didn't seem mad, angry, upset, or any negativity. However, they couldn't tell if their expressions were positive, really. It was really, really difficult to tell.

"I mean," said Emily, clearing her throat to speak after the long silence. "That's pretty rough, and I can relate to the bad things happening part of what you told us, I think all of us could." She paused, before continuing. "But...I don't want it to seem like I'm pitying her or anything, the last thing I'd want, if I was in her shoes, is pity. But if she's here, then I don't think that she should get freebies on things, just because she was homeless. I don't mind if she stays here, as long as she doesn't cause problems."

"So you're okay with this?" Hotch asked, which Emily clarified with a nod.

"Okay." Hotch's eyes went to the next person, which was JJ.

"I don't mind either," says JJ. "I just hope she's nice, like Emily said. It's not like she's a permanent member of the family in one day, right? It's temporary, like you said."

Spencer went next. "Do you think she follows the Facial Expressions Chart?"

Emily and Derek covered their laughter with a snort.

"She might," offered Haley, trying to cover up her own smile.

Thinking about it for just a second, Spencer nods. "That's good enough for me."

"I think she should come here," Derek said, sounding adamant. "I mean, she's been homeless for so long, and if her parents aren't here, then that's rough on her, we all know how that felt, with our biological parents. But, she hasn't probably experienced love and stuff, and that was pretty hard on me growing up. I can kinda relate to her. So I'm okay with this."

"Are all of you sure?" Hotch said assertively, one final time. He watched as they positively nodded their heads, not one of them showing harsh judgment.

Haley nodded at this answer, slightly relieved, as she picked up the phone and dialed Kate's number. "Kate? It's Haley...we've made our decision."

* * *

 **A/N: And scene! Ha, ha. Well it looks like Penelope will be arriving at the household. What will she say when she finally meets Spencer, the boy she stole from? And how will Derek react seeing her again ever since the cafeteria? What about Penelope when she makes eye contact with Derek?**

Please Review!

 **~Sammie**


	8. Penelope's Arrival

**Disclaimer: Nope. I don't own the show.**

 **I know, I know, I know! Nearly two weeks without an update, I'm so very sorry! I've had a really bad case of writer's block for this story.**

* * *

"...So she'll arrive in a few minutes? Okay...thanks Kate, see you soon," Haley hung up on Kate and faced her family who was either anxious or eager, she couldn't tell. Perhaps it was both. "Okay, so her name is Penelope, and she'll arrive soon."

"I'm excited, actually," said Emily, smiling slightly. "I can't remember the last time you told us another kid was coming. God... that was Derek."

"So is it fun to meet a new foster kid on your end?" asked Derek, chuckling at the end. "I mean, you guys to meet me when you had mom and dad."

"Oh I see what you're saying," noted Emily, her smile turning into a grin. "You like that you're no longer the new kid."

"And how," added Derek, making his parents laugh.

"Oh gosh I just remembered!" Haley exclaimed. "Rooming." She pondered about it for a bit, and once she saw the eager face of Emily she knew that she couldn't say no. "Emily, take the room that we've had empty for a while now." Everyone covered their ears and the squeal Emily had finally let out. Haley smiled and said sarcastically, "I'm sure you're very disappointed that you are in your own room by yourself—"

"It's about time!" Exclaimed Emily, rushing upstairs quickly to pack up her things as fast as she could to move into her own space.

"Wait, so, Penelope is my roommate?" JJ inquired, her small brows furrowing in confusion.

Hotch did not know if she looked either upset or happy. "Yes. Just temporarily, though."

"Are you kidding?" JJ said, as a wide smile broke across her face. "She's my new roommate! And Emily leaves her socks around sometimes, and this girl is around my age!"

"I heard that!" Emily shouted from upstairs, who was pacing back and forth still to move things in.

"Will she be able to recite poems from Moliere?" Inquired Spencer.

"Kid, none of us know what that is," Derek said.

" _Who_ it is," corrected Spencer. "And maybe she could, maybe she's like me."

"No one is like you," said Derek, with a lot of doubt. "You're...your own person."

Suddenly, they heard three car honks outside, which anyone could only assume was their new arrival.

Haley felt queasy inside, not in the way where she felt endangered, but in a way where she felt nervous if Penelope would feel welcome or not. Haley just couldn't find it in her heart to turn this child away, and the thought of a wide-eyed petrified nine year old broke Haley's heart. "Well... here she is," she muttered to her family.

"Honey are you alright?" asked Hotch, feeling concerned.

"Yes, I'm just a little jittery, that's all," reassured Haley. "It's exciting and making me nervous at the same time."

"That's called adrenaline," provided Spencer, making Haley laugh good naturedly.

"Thank you Spencer," said Haley, who heard the car honk once more. "We should all go outside to meet her."

"Emily!" Derek called out from the bottom of the stairs, knowing his voice will reach her ears. "The new girl is outside now!"

* * *

It was beautiful, Penelope realized. The house... oh it was _everything_ she dreamed of. Throughout the entire car ride, Penelope was fearful, since she had no idea where she was going, but seeing this beautiful house, it made her feel the warmth of family. She was safe here, she was _sure_ of it. Her dreams of family had begun to come true, even if it was temporary. Kate mentioned the term 'foster home' to her, but Penelope had blocked out after the word 'home.' Because it was a home, with shelter, food, and water, and the physical and emotional feeling of warmth.

Something about this home was... familiar. She couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Kate, what is this? Is this where I'm going to live?" Penelope asks with hope in her voice.

"It is," Kate said, smiling at the way Penelope got a bit more cheery. "They're really nice, I trust them with my life. They have a nice family, all of their kids are adopted from the being in their foster care."

"How many kids are there?" Penelope wondered aloud.

"Four."

" _Four_?" Penelope said, completely astounded. "You're telling me... there's _six_ people in that house?" Well it wasn't so surprisingly, really. Their house looked like they could fit twenty kids if they wanted to, like that TLC show that Stephen used to watch with his brother.

Penelope's heart ached with she thought of Stephen.

Stephen, who hopefully met his brother in heaven.

Stephen, who looked out for her on the street.

Stephen...

Penelope's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Kate's laugh.

"Yes, six people live in that house," answered Kate, laughing good naturedly at her amazement. Kate went on to explain even further. "And they have a recent neighbor, who the dad has been friends with for years. Trust me, you'll love it here." Kate got out of the car, opening the car door for Penelope, as they walked to the front of the house, which featured a lovely couple, but where were the children?

"Are you Penelope?" Haley said with a welcoming smile that Penelope was strangely comforted with. "My name is Haley, it's very nice to meet you."

"My name is Aaron, but—"

"You can call him Hotch!" a small blonde girl, who looked not much younger than Penelope, ran up to her with an eager handshake. "I'm JJ, and we're going to be roommates!" Penelope couldn't help but smile, JJ reminded her of her younger self, back when she was cheerful and had a positive outlook on life. Penelope still tried to live that way, but it has gotten increasingly harder. Penelope realized that JJ could pass as Haley's biological daughter, even if these kids were all adopted.

A teenage girl with straight black hair and a pale face comes up to her, and gives her a giant hug that she did not see coming. "You have no idea how much I love you right now."

"She's just happy that she gets a room to herself," JJ muttered under her breath.

Emily let go, smiling at the new arrival. "I'm Emily, it's really nice to meet you. Stay out of my room."

"Emily..." Hotch groaned, burying his face in his hands.

Then, something caught Penelope's attention... not in the good way.

She heard two voices, voices not from the people she just met, but voices that she heard a while ago, it sounded like the two brothers.

"Derek, I'm nervous, do you think she'll love Moliere?" asked the younger voice timidly.

A sigh from the older brother. "Spencer, she's nine, I don't think she even knows what that is."

"Maeve is seven and _she_ knows what that is," argued Spencer from inside the house.

"That's because..." He sighed again, Penelope thought immediately that this brother did this a lot. "You know what? I don't even know, you just found your other half."

"But I'm a whole person, there's no—"

Yet _another_ sigh. "It's an expression, kid, let's go outside." Their bickering voices were drawing closer and closer, to the point where their conversation was audible one hundred percent clearer than before.

"Spencer, I know it's a poet, you explained it a _thousand_ times—" Derek stopped mid-sentence as he stood outside in front of the girl from the cafeteria, the girl whom he let get away, and now, she was right here, right in front of him. There was no mistake, this was _her_. He didn't know what to say, do, or think. He could turn her in right now, tell on her, but... he didn't realize this girl was homeless.

Where was the doctor who scarf? He wondered.

* * *

Penelope's eyes widened as the realization dawned on her.

Penelope could not keep the fear out of her eyes.

This was... oh god. This was the family that she stole from. That... little boy that had the Doctor Who scarf who was completely clueless about how the world was awful. She remembered that _she_ made him feel that way when she was just trying to survive. And there was the boy that she met in the cafeteria, the boy who she was pretty sure saw through her lie. And now, she was expected to _live with them?_ That boy at the cafeteria that knew something fishy was going on was going to rat her out, or either blackmail her cruelly, or maybe just give her an earful.

Keeping the panic at bay was going to be hard, so she had to tiptoe around this family. All of her dreams that she had in the past of wanting to find a family that would love her was completely replace with wanting to run away and live on the streets again. And the harsh winter was getting colder and colder, but at least she wouldn't be consumed with overwhelming guilt.

The little boy, the little boy _she stole from_ spoke. "Hi, I'm Spencer, do you read Moliere? His works are _fascinating_ , I have you know."

Oh god, he was too sweet, he was also incredibly bright, like a walking encyclopedia.

"Nice to meet you," Penelope said, warming up to the boy. She might as well be nice, she wasn't exactly nice to him the first time they met. And, from the looks of it, he didn't seem to have a clue.

"Derek?" Haley inquired worriedly as her son continued to stare at Penelope, studying her every move, which he was sure was complete terror, since he knew who she really was.

"Yeah, I'm sorry," Derek said, shaking out of his intense trance. He held his hand out, and was surprised to see her flinch, until she realized she was supposed to take it. Once she did, he introduced himself, his tone even and calm. "My name is Derek."

"Penelope," is all she could say, withdrawing her hand as soon as possible.

"Well now let's show you inside," said Haley, as she guided the plump blonde. Haley noticed quickly how the new girl's demeanor changed from a little relaxed to frightened as soon as she saw Derek. She would make sure to ask about that later. "This is the living room, over there is the kitchen and..." She paused, pointing to the top of the stairs. "Those lead to all the bedrooms. Speaking of bedrooms..." She faced JJ, who looked eager. "Would you like to show Penelope to her new room?"

"I'd love to," said JJ, grabbing the other blonde's hand as Haley went back downstairs. JJ frowned for a moment, something felt a little bit off. Before Penelope could go in, JJ blocked the entrance, facing Penelope with seriousness. "Alright, I _have_ to know, this has been bugging me all day about you."

Penelope's heart started to race in anxiety. _Did she already find out?!_

She watched in fear as JJ paused dramatically, taking a deep breath in before asking: "Do you leave your socks everywhere?"

Penelope's heart slowed down in relief. "No, I didn't have many socks."

JJ suddenly remembered that Penelope was homeless, but did not press the matter. "Okay. So you're not gonna leave your socks everywhere, right? Emily would do that all the time..." JJ sat down on her bed, smiling in content. "You know you can sit, now? This is your home for a while." Penelope sat down on her bed, her own bed, quite timidly. "Hey," JJ said, sensing her fear quickly. "We all used to be foster kids, we were just as nervous as you are right now, just as scared, but... know that I'm always here for you. The others, well...I love my siblings, okay? But for them it takes them a little while to trust someone."

"I'm a little scared," admitted Penelope.

"That's okay, I understand, all of us do," supplied JJ. "I like you already though."

"...I like this bed," Penelope said, cracking a small grin. "I haven't had one in a while." Though this was not meant for the younger girl to hear, JJ felt like her body was struck by a bolt of cruel lightning, her heart sinking to her stomach in agony and sadness. She felt the tears well up in her eyes, but was thankfully saved by Haley knocking on the door.

"Girls," said Haley, looking straight at Penelope. "Would you like anything for dinner? We have some leftover food."

Penelope nodded eagerly as went downstairs to eat. Haley looked at her daughter worriedly. "JJ, are you alright?

JJ rubbed her eyes, trying to make it appear that she was tired and not upset. "Yeah...I'm not really hungry, I think I'm gonna rest for a bit."

Haley didn't look too convinced, but let it slide for now. "We'll talk later, okay? Love you." As soon as Haley shut the door, JJ burst into tears into her pillow, letting out her cries on her bed, because she had one, while Penelope didn't, and it just wasn't fair.

* * *

As Penelope eagerly dug into her meal, a meal she has never had this good in her entire life, Hotch and Haley were watching her with sadness. A child should never be this hungry, it broke their hearts. Spencer, however, was playing with his food.

"Spencer, eat your food please," said Haley, not wanting the food to go to waste. Spencer stopped playing with his food and began to eat it.

"Derek," Hotch said, noticing that he hasn't touched his meal, and that he's been acting strange ever since the new girl arrived in his home. "Is something the matter?" Penelope stopped eating, watching Derek, who was calm and reserved. Meanwhile, on the inside, she was freaking the hell out. Oh god... this was bad. She knew she was going to be kicked out, he was going to tell her that it was her who stole the scarf, it was her who did that bad thing to that sweet little boy. Oh god...

Derek cleared his throat, looking at Penelope.

"Nothing," he lied, shocking Penelope as he stared intently at her. "Nothing at all."

* * *

 **A/N: Yep, so that happened. Derek didn't rat her out! I took some reviewers advice and had JJ and Penelope room together, since that was probably what I was going to end up doing, since Emily wanted her own room. Plus, again, I'm sorry for the long wait, and that Dave wasn't in this chapter.**

 **He'll be in the next one, though, so stay tuned!**

 **Ugh, I'm really, really tempted to post my new story, but...(sigh) I promised to end LMHYW first. I'm so conflicted, ugh...**


	9. What's Your Story?

A/N: Thank you for the love! I really hope you like this chapter.

Plus, I added a new high school story that I've been dying to share, so please check that out :)

* * *

"You have a new foster sister?" Maeve asked eagerly as she so easily did math problems unlike the first day she met Spencer, who nods at her question. At her excitement, she continued talking. "That's really cool. I wish I had a sister."

"Two sisters is already a lot, and they like to put powder on my face that makes my cheeks look red, and they put red glossy stuff on my lips," Spencer said out of the blue, making Maeve confused. "Do you know what that is?"

"No, I don't know what it's called, but my mommy puts that stuff on." Maeve made a face. "She looks like a clown!"

"My sisters put make up on sometimes when my mommy isn't home, and they look like clowns, too!' Spencer said, letting himself smile. _Facial Expressions Chart. Maeve is happy, so I'm happy? I feel happy, I'm confused..._

"Why are you smiling?" Maeve asked, her brows furrowing in confusion.

"Because I'm happy. Are you happy?" Spencer asked.

"Sometimes I'm happy, and sometimes I'm sad," Maeve answered, a sad look suddenly appearing on her face.

Spencer saw it, and therefore he frowned. "Why are you sad sometimes?" Maeve didn't reply right away, she felt tears welling up in her eyes, and Spencer knew very well that meant she was said, though Haley said that sometimes people cry when they're happy. But... right now Maeve was talking about being sad. Maeve managed to meet Spencer's curious eyes, before murmuring:

"My mommy is gone."

Spencer didn't know how to comfort her, though he wanted to make her feel less sad desperately.

* * *

Penelope's first three days at the Hotchner residence was... rather interesting. There were a few things she noticed about her foster siblings. Emily, was very sarcastic and talked on the phone constantly, especially within the comfort of her new room. Penelope realized that was the reason why Emily was probably being so nice to her, because of the fact that _she's_ the reason Emily has her own room. Still, she expected Emily to be a very mean person, due to her sarcastic nature.

Secondly, JJ was probably the sweetest girl she'd ever met, so bubbly and cheery. She was an excellent roommate, too. She was very chatty, eager to talk about art and drawing. Penelope smiled, remembering that at one point that she used to be very creative and bubbly. She wished she could go back to a time where she was happy like JJ was. But even then—no one could be _that_ happy. JJ had a dark secret, and she assumed that all of them did.

Spencer, the little boy she stole from, was a total sweetheart as well. Something about him was a little off, like the way he didn't understand sarcasm, and how he was seemingly smarter than his siblings, despite the fact that he's the youngest. He spoke very articulately and was painfully literal. Penelope noticed that he and JJ played a game involving something like a "Facial Expressions Chart," that Derek and Emily would roll their eyes at.

Speaking of Derek, he terrified her to no end. He didn't know when or how, but he was going to say something to her sooner or later. The past three days, however—he said nothing. Not a word was spoken to her, unless he was obligated to. This only confirmed her suspicions that he knew what she did, yet he didn't rat her out. Penelope didn't know whether she was thankful or not, because the guilt was still eating at her. Perhaps this was Derek's way of punishing her. She has yet to know what's in store for her.

"Penelope?" Haley called out to her, waving a hand in front of her face with a warm smile. "You zoned out a bit there, are you alright?"

"She does that a lot, mommy," says JJ, eating her dinner at the table with everyone else. "Spencer told me that's called maladaptive daydreaming."

"Mala- _what_?" Derek asked confusedly, looking at Spencer with astonishment. "Where do you...I don't even—" he cuts himself off, looking at his parents. "What _books_ are you giving him to read?"

Hotch and Haley shrugged, looking absolutely clueless.

Oh yes, and then there were her foster parents. They seemed nice enough, which could only hurt her more inside. Haley was a warm person, Penelope could already tell. It reminded her of how her mother used to be, before she threw her out on the streets. Penelope's mother was born to be a mother, or so she originally thought. But Penelope could see, truly see, that this title belonged to Haley. Penelope never has seen someone love her kids as much as Haley did, and those kids weren't even biologically hers.

Hotch was a lot nicer than Penelope thought he was going to be, with his stern look and all. Penelope didn't know why, but she assumed that Hotch was going to look down on her because she was a homeless kid on the street, and that's what it felt like at first. But very quickly, he pushed it aside and made sure that he made this little girl as comfortable as he possibly could.

Penelope wondered why they decided to adopt and not physically have children.

She wouldn't ask though, it was none of her business.

Without knocking, Dave Rossi burst through the door with a giant bag in his hands. "Hello, all!"

"Dave!" All of the kids chorused except Penelope, who could only stare.

Dave held the bag up. "I bring ice cream, because I can." All the kids, besides Penelope who was still staring in apprehension, cheered.

Haley crossed her arms, frowning at Dave in disapproval. "In case you haven't noticed, Dave, we're in the middle of dinner."

Dave smirked at her, knowing she wasn't truly pissed off. "No worries, it's for after dinner."

"Oh and I texted him to bring it over," said Hotch casually, earning a look from Haley.

"Yeah, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. Why'd you ask me to pick up seven of them? I mean, Hotch, I know you love your ice cream, but it's a bit overkill don't you think?" It was just then he realized that someone new was sitting at the dinner table, someone he had never met before. "Oh," he paused, looking at Haley and Hotch. "Who's this?"

"This is Penelope, she's staying with us for a bit," Haley said with a smile. She faced the nine year old. "Penelope, this is Dave. He's our neighbor next door. Sorry you couldn't meet him earlier, he insisted that he spend three days in a new condo he bought—"

"Hey, hey, hey, mind you, it was a really good condo for a good price," Dave defended lightly, he turned his attention to the nine year old. "But yes, I'm Dave." He pondered for a bit and then smiled. "Ah! Now I understand why Hotch wanted me to pick up and extra one."

"Thank you," Penelope said, allowing him to see a shy smile of hers. Once Haley saw that Penelope thanked him, she urged her children to do the same, which they did. When everyone was finished with their dinner and their ice cream, they went their separate ways. Haley was talking on the phone outside with Kate to do some catching up, Derek, Emily, and JJ went upstairs to their rooms, while Hotch and Dave were sitting on the couch watching television.

Spencer, however, did not move from his table. His brain was trying to solve the puzzle about what to do with Maeve. His therapist was talking to him about friendships, and Maeve was his first friend. His therapist said that when friends are sad, that they comfort each other. The problem was... he wanted to do that, but he didn't know how. He refused to look foolish... not in front of his only friend.

"Give me a second, Dave," Hotch murmured to his friend, who nodded in understanding with his eyes fixated on the TV screen. Hotch went over to his youngest and knelt down beside him, curiously wondering what he was thinking about. "Spencer?" The five year old nods twice, acknowledging his father's presence. "Buddy, what's wrong?" Spencer shrugged, keeping his eyes on his plate that has yet to be removed.

"It's just... it's not... I don't—" Spencer cuts himself off, groaning in frustration as the words wouldn't come out.

"Take your time," Hotch consoled gently.

"It's not okay, it's not _right,_ " Spencer managed to say.

"What isn't right, Spencer? Can you explain a bit more?" Hotch prodded.

"Maeve doesn't have a mommy, but I do. In fact, I have _two_ mommies," emphasized Spencer, finally getting the words out. "I just... I wish there was a scientific way where I can give one of my mommies to Maeve so she won't be so sad." Hotch couldn't help but smile sadly at that, though the gesture on his part was very sweet.

"You know that's not possible," Hotch explained gently. "But all you can do, really, is to be a good friend to her. She's lucky to have someone as kind as you."

Spencer smiled a little, feeling himself relax. "She's a warrior, you know. W-A-R-R-I-O-R. Maeve means _warrior_."

If possible, Hotch's smile got wider. "It sure does, bud."

* * *

At first, Penelope and JJ sat silently in their rooms, coloring in the books the latter wanted to share with the former. Soon after, JJ noticed that Penelope stopped coloring, and that she had a curious expression on her face, as well as confusion. JJ understood, of course, because she was once Penelope in the sense where she was brand new to a home.

JJ put her pencil down. "Okay, you have questions," she stated, making the plump blonde look up in shock of how she knew that. "What's up?"

Penelope bit her lip anxiously, hesitant on whether she should really ask or not. Then, she realized, that this was JJ, who has been more kinder than anyone else in her life, besides Stephen, of course. She can _kind of_ trust her. "Why are the four of you here? I-I mean, um..." _God! Could I phrase it even more wrong?_ "What I meant was, how did you guys end up living with Haley and Hotch? And why didn't they have children?"

JJ frowned, baffled by the question. "They did have children, which is us, and we came here as foster children, like you."

"No, you know what I mean? _Biological_ children." JJ knew that this is what Penelope meant to say, but she wanted her to say it herself, that JJ wanted her to know that it wasn't going to offend her.

"They can't," whispered JJ, like it was some big secret. "They... they can't _have_ children like a regular mommy and daddy can, so that's how we came."

"Right," Penelope said, feeling her stomach sink. "One more thing, and I know it's not really my business, but..."

"He's autistic," JJ said immediately, quieting Penelope into stunned silence. JJ explained further. "Asperger's syndrome, is a part of it. He has trouble with social skills, but he's super smart. You didn't hear this from me, got it? If anyone asks how you know, just say that you assumed it."

"Oh," Penelope said, not knowing what else to say. "Got it."

JJ smiled at her, a genuine one. "You know Penelope, I'm really glad you're here. I really like you."

Penelope felt her heart grow a size, with extra warmth inside of it. "I like you too, JJ. I'm just... I'm _happy_."

Two knocks on the door interrupted the girls' conversation, with Derek standing in the doorway. "Uh, JJ? Emily needed to talk to you about something. Something about stealing her hair ties?"

JJ's eyes go wide. "Oh god, she found out!?" The petite blonde rushed out of the room, leaving Derek alone with Penelope.

The two stare at each other in silence, and it shook Penelope to the core. Was he finally gonna yell? Was he actually going to rat her out for good?

Penelope spoke first. "Derek, I—"

"Tell me your life story," interrupted Derek, remaining neutral and calm. "Tell me everything, and don't leave out a single detail." Penelope's haunted eyes went down to the floor, not knowing how to answer that. Where would she start, even? Plus, everything was a terrible blur of unpleasantness.

"Why?" Penelope said, in an almost broken voice.

"Because I want to know," Derek said, eyeing her. "If you're for real."

"What do you mean?" muttered Penelope.

"Are you doing this for some sort of motive?" Derek asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes. "Tell me your story, and that'll be for me to decide, because no one else has ever met you in person other than me."

Penelope's eyes finally met his. "Where do I start? It's very long."

Derek sat down cross-legged on JJ's bed. "From the beginning. I've got time."

* * *

A/N: I missed Maeve in this story, so I decided to bring her back! Spencer deserves a friend, after all. Goodness, this story though! I've missed regularly updating for this! Please review!


	10. True Intentions

Disclaimer: Own nada. Shoutout to Jeff Davis.

A/N: Thank you for your support, guys!

* * *

"Everything used to be so simple," Penelope started off softly, scared that Derek was so upfront with her. "Really, it was. Well..." She trailed off, her nerves making it difficult for her to speak about her past. "My parents were good people, until they weren't."

"What do you mean?" Derek pressed.

Penelope sighed. "Well, my mom said that my dad had been diagnosed with something, something that makes you extremely sad, but I don't know the fancy word for it. He tried 'experimenting' with lots of drugs, mom said. After that, my mom became really, really mean. It's weird how I ended up getting kicked out, though. They just decided they didn't want me anymore."

Derek was silent, listening intently.

"Then, that's when I decided to live on the streets," added Penelope, shuddering at the memories. "I've been homeless for a while now." Penelope didn't miss Derek's skeptical look. "I know, this looks bad but... it's not like I didn't try to live somewhere else, my neighbors who used to like me kicked me out. I was on my own for a bit, until I met two friends."

"The ones I met in the cafeteria," Derek realized, making Penelope nod in confirmation.

"Yes," she says, as she went on. "Shane and Stephen." _Stephen, your friend who died._ Her mind echoed. "They taught me that I needed to steal in order to survive on the streets. I was really desperate, I didn't want to steal from people, but..." she trailed off, her eyes burning with unshed tears. "I hope you know I felt awful about it, yes, I stole your brother's scarf, but it was cold, I was freezing, and... it looked like you guys lived such good lives, I just assumed you'd buy another."

"Where is the scarf now?"

That only made Penelope burst into more hysterical sobs. "One of my friends... Stephen, he... he was shot at and..." Penelope looked up to him, with pleading eyes, desperately asking for forgiveness. She didn't even notice how softer Derek's eyes had gotten. "Derek, forgive me, but... I tried using that scarf to save his life." She looked down at her knees, her pants becoming stained with her own tears.

Derek's heart broke for her. Now, he realized, that he could understand her. That her motives were not cruel, that she did what she had to do. Derek was very protective of Spencer, and anyone who hurt his little brother, had hurt him. But her intentions were not like bullies on the playground, but out of survival. Then again, the longest Derek lasted living on the streets was three days, when the little girl in front of him had lasted over six months? How did she do it?

"I'm sorry," Derek admitted, making Penelope look up again except with surprise as _he_ continued. "I shouldn't have been so cold to you."

"You were protecting your brother," Penelope said in understanding. "If I had a sibling, I'd do the same thing."

"None of my siblings were homeless for six months," Derek countered. "I'm not saying that I trust you, because with me, that takes time, but know that I understand you didn't mean to do what you did."

"Thank you," Penelope said, entirely grateful. "Really, thank you."

A loud argument between Emily and JJ broke their thoughts from outside.

"JJ! How many times have I told you not to steal my hair ties?"

"I'm learning how to put my hair up in pigtails and ponytails by myself, I need to borrow them!"

"Then you ask!"

"Mom!"

"Mom—"

"Girls, enough with the fighting!" Interrupted Haley.

"Do they always argue like that?" Penelope asked Derek.

"Sometimes," answered Derek, chuckling. "Do you want to go downstairs? Maybe play some board games?"

Penelope found herself smiling, something that she's never done in front of Derek. "Sure."

Derek couldn't help but feel like she was leaving something out though.

* * *

"Since JJ and Emily were fighting about hair," Spencer started off, resulting in glares from Emily and JJ. Spencer started bringing up a fact as he got a classic board game out for all five of them to play. "This is something relating to hair, the word shampoo arrives from the Hindi 'champna', implication to rub or massage."

Penelope simply stared blankly at the five year old.

Derek, sensing her confusion, spoke to her. "Have you ever played Candy Land?"

"I used to play Candy Land," said Penelope, looking at all the pieces as fond memories returned to her. "Back when I was really little." She scanned the board game in realization. "Doesn't this only go up to four players, though?"

"One of us needs to sit out this round," said Emily, already getting up. "And that'll be me, since I have my own room and I plan on talking on the phone with Tara without you rugrats eavesdropping."

"Rugrats?" Penelope asked, quirking a brow, but Derek shook her head at her to not open her mouth.

Emily smiled. "It's a term of endearment, I promise you."

"Can I borrow a hair tie?" JJ asked hopefully.

"No."

"But I asked nicely!"

"I'll help you do your hair," offered Penelope to JJ, while looking at Emily. "Can _I_ borrow a hair tie?" The oldest sighed, taking her hair tie off her wrist and handing it to Penelope, which made JJ gap like a fish out of water.

"How come you give a hair tie to _Penelope_?" She emphasized, crossing her arms like the child she was.

"Because I'm not getting in trouble for being mean to the new girl," Emily said simply, not waiting for anyone to reply as she marched upstairs to her room to blab into her phone.

"Yes, she's always this mean," JJ answered to Penelope, once Emily was out of earshot.

Penelope was baffled. "I didn't ask."

"You didn't have to," said JJ, smirking as she picked a piece from the board. "Are you going to help my do my hair or not?"

"Didn't you say you wanted to do it yourself?" questioned Penelope.

"For now, can you do it for me?" Penelope complied, she was always good at anything related to taking care of her hair, and she felt oddly comforted when she was able to do JJ's hair.

* * *

"School," Haley said aloud to herself in bed, frowning as the thought had suddenly come to her. Haley sat up and faced Hotch, who was getting ready for bed. "We have to enroll Penelope in school," she told him.

"Yes, we do," Hotch said simply. "We've done the process each time with our other kids, what makes this time any different?"

"Because, Aaron," Haley starts off, climbing out of bed to stand next to him. "She was homeless. Penelope hasn't been in school for a while."

"But some of the months she's been homeless, it was during the summer when she would've had no school anyway," Hotch tried to explain.

"Aaron, she probably has no idea how to learn in a classroom," Haley said, trying to remain calm. "Kate explained to me that even when Penelope was living with her parents, that she hasn't gone to school very often, and that she was consistently absent."

Hotch frowned. "What were her grades, normally?"

"Before her family's problems got worse, she maintained high grades, but as soon as the problems started, she got lower grades mostly because she's been absent."

"You're right," admitted Hotch. "So what you're saying, is that we have to approach this differently."

"Yes," Haley said, beginning to explain further. "We had to see where Penelope is at academically, and what she's capable of learning."

"Whether she repeats third grade or not?" Hotch asked, adding on to the discussion, which Haley nodded at. "To be honest, I don't see that as a bad thing. Penelope would be in the same classroom as JJ, no?"

"She would," said Haley. "But maybe we should see what she can handle."

* * *

The very next day, Haley took Penelope to see the school's psychologist. This was not for a psychological evaluation, but because the psychologist here was in charge of giving on tests to see where a child's strengths and weaknesses are at. Penelope would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous. She did not want to look foolish or stupid when this test was given to her. Truth to be told, she didn't remember much from what she was taught in school. After all, she hadn't been in school for a very long time.

Once Haley was waiting outside, the psychologist smiled at the little girl.

"Hello Penelope, my name is Dr. White," The woman said sweetly. "Would you like to sit down across from me?" Penelope did so, not feeling that she had a choice in the matter. "I'm just going to give you a series of tests. As we go on, the tests are going to get harder and harder. Is that alright?" The nine year old nodded slowly, not knowing what else to say. Dr. White handed her a list of words while she grabbed a notepad to write notes on. "Will you read them aloud to me?"

"Cat, rat, hat, bat, sat, mat..." Penelope trailed off, listing the words with ease. Of course the words eventually got harder, beginning to slow down. "School, grade, travel, save, dir—" Penelope paused, frowning at the unfamiliar word. "Direction?" Dr. White let her keep going, Penelope pulled out the sheet behind that one to continue to read. "Standard, productive, wise, actual, rhythm, muscle, and..." She paused, sounding out the word in front of her that caused such a challenge. "Occurrence."

"Yes, very good," Dr. White noted, who was scribbling things on her notepad of how many words Penelope managed to get up to. "Okay, now we'll be doing some math." It was simple at first, starting with two plus two, then it got harder to adding two digit and even three digit numbers. However, Penelope immediately stopped when multiplication beyond her two times tables knowledge had gotten in the way, and division she was absolutely clueless with. Soon after that, Dr. White tested her with analyzing stories, which she was just below average with, having not learned how to use context clues.

Then, there was a test on typing on the computer.

Penelope didn't know why, but when it came to technology and computers, she excelled tremendously. She was naturally fast at typing out the vocabulary words just by hearing it. The actual test was whether being able to hear a word and write or type it, but what Dr. White was really focused on was how well Penelope was typing.

"Thank you, Penelope," Dr. White said, still keeping up a friendly smile. When the little girl was in another room, playing with a box of toys that was usually kept, the psychologist spoke to Haley. "Considering that she hasn't been in school for a long time, she's done exceptionally well. She doesn't have the basic knowledge of using context clues in a text, but that can be worked with. She's struggles with basic multiplication with division, which was expected. However, with her vocabulary words, she reached a fifth grade level, and when she was asked to type words down on the computer, not only was she able to spell the words correctly, but she typed very fast."

"So the question is," Haley started off, beaming with pride. "Does she repeat the third grade? Or can she move onto fourth?"

"I don't see why she can't move on to fourth, but the issue is that we're nearly half way done with the year, if she can keep up with the work, along with a private tutor, then I see that this is possible. She's a bright girl, but I think some accommodations should be made."

"An IEP?" Haley questioned. She knew the process of that as well. After all, Spencer's IEP was specific on his special needs in terms of his autism—Asperger's syndrome. His IEP was not for his academics, since he excelled as always, but because of his social issues. Not only did Spencer have an IEP. Also, at the beginning of the year, JJ had recently gotten an IEP, but for the opposite reason. Her academics—especially in math—needed to be worked on, with some aspects of her examination her below grade level, though teachers and students always commented that she was a "social butterfly."

"I don't see why not," Dr. White said. "Penelope would be pulled out of her classroom twice a week, to work on things that she's struggling with to be at the same level as the rest of her peers."

"I like the sound of that," Haley said, going into the other room to pick up Penelope. "It was nice seeing you again!" Haley called out to the psychologist.

"You too, Mrs. Hotchner," Dr. White said with a smile. As soon as Haley was out of earshot, Dr. White said to herself, "Their family gets bigger and bigger."

* * *

"Haley," Penelope asks shyly, right after they get out of Dr. White's office. "Am I smart?"

Haley smiled, kneeling down in front of her so they'd be at the same eye level. "I think you're very smart, Penelope."

"You're not lying to me, right?" Penelope asked doubtfully.

Haley frowned, her brows furrowing in confusion. "Why would I lie to you?"

"Because everyone else has," Penelope muttered, almost sounding way too dark. "I don't care if the truth is bad, it's better than being lied at."

"Tell you what," Haley said, remaining gentle and calm. "From now on, you will not be lied to. Aaron and I will never ever lie to you as long as you're under our roof. Do you understand?"

Penelope nodded. "I do."

Haley got up from off the floor and asked, "Now, do you wanna get some ice cream?"

For the first time, Penelope grinned at Haley in joy.


	11. Back To School

**Disclaimer- I promise you, I'm not capable of owning Criminal Minds, therefore, I don't.**

 **Please review guys! We're on our way to almost one hundred reviews! If this happens, it'll be faster than it took TTC to get 100 reviews! Let's do it :)**

* * *

Penelope liked school.

She thought she would hate it, really. She hadn't gone in a very long time, so she assumed that she was going to behind on everything. Penelope wasn't behind on everything, just some things, like how to multiply, how to divide, and to name foreign countries. Thankfully, there was a nice boy named Kevin who took a liking to her and volunteered to help her catch up on things.

Sure, Spencer was nice enough to teach her about math, but sometimes he got too excited when he explained, and that made Penelope more confused than ever. It wasn't the kid's fault, of course, and it was nice to see him getting happy over something. She couldn't exactly go to JJ since she was younger and was awful at math. Derek was a bit too awkward since he knew her biggest secrets, and Emily was far too intimidating for her liking.

"So basically you add seven five times and you get thirty five," Kevin explained, as he added all the sevens in a line. "See? What if you added another seven to that mix? It'd be seven times six, which is...?" Kevin looked at Penelope expectantly, who had the answer.

"Forty two," Penelope supplied.

He smiled. "Great. I don't know why you said you were awful in math, you're really not."

Penelope shrugged. "I'm just not used to school."

"Why not?" Kevin asked curiously.

"Um, well, I'm _new_ here, remember?" Penelope replied. Well, it wasn't a total lie. She was new to the school here, but Kevin didn't need to know the whole drama behind it. "You try being the new kid, it's hard."

"I'm sorry," Kevin says sincerely. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

"It's okay," Penelope dismissed, waving it off. "So what do you think of eight times tables? Same thing?"

"Yes, just keep adding eights."

Penelope smiled.

* * *

"Derek," says his friend Michael as they were eating lunch in the cafeteria. "Do you think I can come over today?"

"Nah, I don't think so," Derek said sadly.

"This is the third time you've said no, what's going on?" Michael asked.

Derek sighed. "Promise me you won't say anything to the other guys."

"Alright..." Michael trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

"There's a new foster girl in our home, and her name's Penelope and all of us are getting settled with her."

"A new foster kid?!" Michael nearly exclaimed, but instead he whispered it loudly. "But I thought that after you came along they were done with that."

"My thoughts too," Derek says, agreeing. "But... she was homeless, and... no one else would take her in, so my family did until a group home is willing to accept her."

"Did your parents say that about you and the rest-"

"Yes," Derek interrupted. "But we don't know what's going to happen, alright? So let's just leave it."

"Jeez, don't be so sensitive," Michael said, with his hands up showing he meant no harm. "Forgive me for missing my best friend."

"I have you know," Derek said, frowning. "That I miss hanging out with you too, man, but other things are going on, alright?"

Michael doesn't say anything.

Smart move.

* * *

"Spencer," Maeve said. "What do you think of The Magic Treehouse series? I just started reading the fifth one and it's so exciting! And, I know how much you like to read, so..."

"I've read all of them," Spencer pointed out to his friend. "They're okay, but I like Hamlet better."

"Hamlet?" Maeve said incredulously. "What's _that_?"

"It's a play by William Shakespeare." Spencer liked Maeve. He liked that Maeve was so fascinated by learning, and how, much like him, was eager for more information. Maeve didn't cut Spencer off when he info dumped about a topic that interested him. Instead, Maeve sat by quietly and listened, smiling in encouragement.

Maeve knew that there was something off with Spencer, but she didn't care. When her daddy was talking to Spencer's adoptive mommy and daddy, there were words exchanged that Maeve didn't understand, like "Spectrum" and "Autism," but it wasn't a problem, since Spencer was still nice to her, as always.

"Didn't he write Romeo and Juliet?" Inquired Maeve, who saw Spencer nod as she continued, her face growing sad. "That was my mommy's favorite play."

"I'm sure your mommy was a good mommy," Spencer said kindly, remembering what his dad told him about being a good friend to Maeve.

Moments like these that would pop up now and then made Maeve smile. Spencer was kind, sweet, and empathetic. She didn't know why other kids were mean to him and shoved him. "Thanks Spencer."

* * *

"Boys, boys, boys!" Tara said, her eyes filled with love. "I swear, Ross Carmichael is just so hot! Do you think... do you think he'd let me be his?"

Moments like these, Emily realized, that made her wonder why she was still sticking around Tara Lewis. All she'd talk about, really, was _boys_. It seemed that Tara had all the luck, while Emily almost got assaulted when she showed an interest in a boy.

More or less, she hated when Tara would talk like this, when Emily knew _she_ knew what had almost happened to her with Ian Doyle. "Tara, you know I don't care about these things."

"Yeah, but this is high school, no?" questioned Tara. "You _have_ to!"

"Last time I checked, this wasn't in the freshman handbook we were given," Emily pointed out, fed up. Right now, she wanted to focus on maintaining her grades. That high ninety in her honors geometry class wasn't from slacking off. But she has been slacking in the science department lately, she _hated_ biology. Emily liked her honor roll status, it was something to be proud of, and she didn't want it snatched away.

So she had no time for boys and drama and all that petty stuff.

"Well it's in the Tara Lewis handbook," Tara pointed out, matter-of-factly. "I need a boyfriend, like, now!"

Emily rolled her eyes. "Maybe Ross is interested in you..." She went back to answering the biology question on the board, hoping that Tara would eventually to pick up on the hint that Emily just didn't care. Or that, maybe, she had other things to worry about, like maintaining high grades to make her parents proud, and her biological parents as well.

"Emily," said Tara, her voice filled with hurt. "You just... are so neglectful lately."

Sighing with guilt, Emily put her pen down and faced her best friend. "I'm sorry, I'm just concerned about my grades, that's all. Mom was telling me before school started about how she would cut class a lot during freshman year, which was actually an important year, despite what people tell you. Then, she met my dad, and he helped her get on the right track, and they began dating. I don't wanna fall down that path, you know?"

Tara nods. "I understand, I'm sorry. But you have to admit, that story is _romantic_."

Emily groaned, of course Tara would find romance _anywhere_.

* * *

Haley sighed, drumming her fingers against the table in troubling thoughts. Kate had yet to call her about Penelope's case, and it was really beginning to worry her. Not only that, her husband has been on her mind lately. He looked thinner, but in an unhealthy way. He'd get this way whenever he was working hard on a case. So yes, he has always been a workaholic.

Correction, they were not having problems. Both Haley and Hotch were still deeply in love, and that wasn't going to change. But Haley was such a mother, wanting to mother everyone really, and when she sees someone without a full stomach, that worries her.

Her kids were skinny, too. Before they came into her care, her kids were practically malnourished. Even though Penelope was on the plump side, somehow, just somehow, she still looks skinny to Haley. She's starving for love, she _needs_ it. Wait, why was her mind jumping back and forth on this? Wasn't she just talking about her husband? She was not supposed to be... oh goodness.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. Haley goes over to answer it, revealing Dave, who casually lets himself into their home. It wasn't disrespectful on his part, a trusted friend over the years was allowed to do that, in Haley's mind.

"Dave, what are you doing here?"

"You haven't come over to mock my cooking yet," Dave said playfully, with a smirk. "That means I know something is on your mind. Aaron would say that constantly."

"Gosh, is that what he says behind my back?" Haley chuckled, but it didn't feel so easy, like it was forced.

Dave saw right through it. "When you drum your fingers against the table like that, that means you're in deep thought." Haley realized that she was, indeed, drumming her fingers against the table out of habit. She stopped immediately and sighed. Dave spoke. "What's on your mind?" He sat down next to her.

"Everything, really," confided Haley. "With the new foster girl were taking in, who's so troubled and has so many secrets. The therapist she has is having trouble getting her to talk. Something is up with Derek, I know it. Believe me when I say a mother knows. Spencer had a meltdown the other day, and JJ has been kind of upset ever since she got an IEP." She finished, nearly out of breath.

Dave took note of everything she said, giving her a proud grin. "I don't know how you do it. But... I'm proud of you. I'm sure everything will work itself out, doesn't it always?"

"Do you notice how skinny Aaron looks, Dave?" Haley asks worriedly. "He's got thinner, he's always working. He never works late, but when he gets home he starts to work and therefore skips through dinner. Tell me not to be concerned."

"Haley, Aaron is at the point in his law career where things get pretty busy," Dave said. "Take it from me. When I was his age, that's when it got pretty demanding."

Haley sighed. "I'm worried about him."

"Believe me, so am I."

"Thanks Dave," Haley said.

"No problem. I'll be right next door if you need me."

* * *

"JJ, you know what _I_ heard?" a mean girl with a ratty face sneered at the petite blonde at lunch, while the girl's friends surrounded her, backing her up. "My mommy told me that you're some freak who's disabled, which means you're stupid." The girl's friends laughed, while JJ felt like she was being torn apart inside. What did she ever do to them?

"What do you mean?" JJ innocently asked, but this only made the girls laugh harder.

"Looks like she can't even understand that," one of the girls mocked.

"She's so stupid!" Another girl beside the ratty looking one cackled, the other girls joining in.

"I'm not stupid," JJ said, sounding hurt. "I just... I have trouble with things, and-"

"That means you're stupid," The ratty girl sneered again, as if it were obvious. "You're not very smart, are you? Aren't you at a level M reading level? My brother is six and he's at level O! We're all at level Q, that's really sad."

JJ's felt tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm not stupid..."

"Yes you are," one of the mean girls persisted. "You can't even multiply numbers right."

"You know what I heard?" The ratty girl said, looking at JJ smugly. "I heard her five year old brother is just a grade behind her and is genius, but he's like, a _freak_." The girls giggled, and JJ clenched her jaw.

"Don't talk about my brother," JJ said lowly, her fist clenching at her side.

"Why not? Isn't he disabled in some way, like _you_?" The ratty girl added on, savoring the moment of JJ's displeasure. "My mommy says he's autistic or something, and only freaks are autistic."

Making fun of JJ was harsh enough. But as soon as the evil ratty mean girl Linda Barnes began to make fun of her little brother, that was the final straw.

JJ did not think for a minute, she tightened her fist and swung.

* * *

Haley heard her phone ring. She looked at the ID and realized it was the elementary school. At that sight, her heart sank. Something must've happened, because let's face it, something _always_ happens. She flipped her phone open to answer. "Hello?" A pause, she waits patiently. "Yes, this is she..." She continued to wait as the other voice began to explain the situation that had occurred. The more Haley heard, the more annoyed her face looked.

"I'll be right there." She flipped the phone shut, and put her face in her hands just for a moment and groaned. Soon after, she picked up the phone again and dialed Hotch's number. "Honey, what's wrong?"

"One of our kids just got into a fist fight," Haley managed to grit out.

She could feel Hotch's eyebrows go up. "What? Who? I'm on my lunch break, I can come right now." He began to list names. "Derek? Emily? Spencer? Penelope?"

"Wow honey, glad to know you have a list prepared in who you think would have a fight," Haley said sarcastically. "And you're wrong."

" _JJ_?" Hotch said incredulously.

"Yes, JJ punched another girl in the face. I'm heading to the school now."

"I'll meet you there." Haley nodded and hung up.

One thing was ringing in her mind. Hotch did have a point, no matter how horrible it sounded. JJ was the last person to start a physical fight with anyone. Derek and Emily both have infamous tempers, Spencer would never mean to be violent unless he was in a meltdown, and Penelope wasn't known to well yet. As judgment as it sounded, she was a street girl, and street girls were often associated with fighting.

So when Haley caught a call that their sweet little JJ was in a fight, something was wrong.

* * *

 **A/N: Yes, so... I know the scenes were short, but I wanted the kids to adjust to going back to school. So JJ got into a fight! What is she going to tell Hotch and Haley?**


	12. Fight Aftermath

**Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds**

A/N: We finally reached 100 reviews! Yay! Thank you Dextalon for being the 100th reviewer! Please continuing reviewing guys! It really makes my heart grow many sizes! :)

Here's a big juicy chapter for you! I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Haley gripped the steering wheel with force, as she gritted her teeth in annoyance. Yes, even though Haley knew something wrong must've happened for JJ to react so violently, it still was unexpected from her. She and Hotch had preached and preached to their children about how violence would not be tolerated, and how JJ followed that rule the best, but it didn't set in, apparently, for some reason.

Hotch was already at the school when Haley arrived. What they saw, surprised the two of them, their little girl sitting in the main office, waiting for whatever punishment she was about to receive. Even though they were upset at the event, Haley and Hotch couldn't help but feel their hearts sink in sympathy, whatever had happened had troubled JJ in some way, parents always know.

Before they could approach their little girl, the principal of the elementary approached them. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Hotchner? Jennifer Jareau Hotchner's parents?"

"It's JJ," muttered the irritated blonde. "I like to be called JJ."

"JJ," warned Hotch lightly.

Ignoring the bitter remark from her daughter, Haley smiled at the principal. "Elaine, we've met."

The principal, who JJ just learned had the first name Elaine, smiled at Haley. "Oh, right! Haley, wasn't it?"

Haley chuckled a bit and shook her hand. "Yes, yes it is."

"Nice to see you again." The principal's smile turned slightly grim. "Except given the circumstances."

Haley nodded in understanding, catching the glare from JJ at the corner of her eye. "Yes."

"What exactly happened?" Hotch said, cutting right to the chase.

This time, the principal acknowledges JJ's presence. "Would you like to tell your parents what happened, JJ?"

"I'd _love_ to," JJ said with venom, dripping with sarcasm, glaring at Hotch and Haley with such defiance they didn't even know she had. "I was just minding my own business, and the snotty Linda Barnes with her _mommy's_ money—"

"JJ," Haley warned again, much like Hotch did moments before. Though at the mention of Linda Barnes, she knew where this was going. Let's just say that Haley and Mrs. Barnes did not always see eye to eye. Nonetheless, Haley had to keep her composure. "Just explain why you punched her in the face."

JJ cleared her throat, not batting an eye. "Like I said, I didn't do anything to her, but then, she starts talking about how her precious mommy knows that I'm a freak who's disabled, and she called me stupid. But then..." JJ trailed off, and that's when Hotch and Haley see the rage in her eyes as further events flashed in her mind. "Evil Linda was being mean to Spencer, calling him an autistic freak. So what did I do? Yes, I punched her in the face. She deserved it."

The principal kept her eyes on the floor, not wanting to look at the pain in the little girl's eyes. Hotch and Haley were also quiet for the time being. They knew that the sympathy or guilt in JJ's eyes was not for what she did to Linda, that she wasn't truly sorry, but that was mainly for Spencer. Haley and Hotch didn't know how to approach this situation.

"She's going to get away with it, isn't she?" JJ snapped at the principal, wondering why she was silent for so long. "Just because her mommy is rich and donates money to the school, she gets away with it, right?"

The principal pressed her lips together. "Whatever Linda may have said was one thing... but she did not get physical."

Haley winced and frowned at the principal in disapproval. "Elaine—."

"All of her Linda's friends were there, and they said that JJ started to attack her for no reason."

Hotch now frowned, feeling uncomfortable. "That's not right."

"Take her to court, daddy!" JJ said immediately, fire in her blue eyes.

"Look," the principal said, getting fed up. "It's their words against hers, what can I do? JJ will be suspended for three days."

"That's not _right_ ," emphasized Haley, repeating Hotch's words from before. "Are you saying my daughter would make up a story like that? You know that JJ recently got an IEP, you know how Judy and the other mothers find these things out _somehow_. You knew that when I enrolled my kids in this school that Spencer was autistic, now why would she make that up?"

"Mom, just forget it," JJ said irritably, eyeing Elaine with disdain. "Nothing's going to be done."

Elaine was trying to keep her temper inside. "I'll see you in three days, JJ."

Haley did her best not to curse out the principal. "I'd like to pull Spencer Reid Hotchner and Penelope Garcia out of school right now for today."

Hotch's frown only deepened. "Haley—"

"Nope, I'm not having it," decided Haley, who shook her head as the principal made an announcement over the speakers for the two to report to the main office with their things.

Hotch took out his phone and immediately called his office. "I'm going to need to head home early, I'm sorry, it's an emergency...yes...thank you for understanding." He hung up quickly, pocketing his phone as he shook his head in disapproval. "Haley, I love you, but pulling Penelope and Spencer out of school and fighting with everyone is only going to make things worse."

"You're a lawyer, you fight with people for a living."

"JJ, please..." Hotch said, burying his face in his hands. "Haley, we'll figure this out, let's just go home." Soon after Penelope and Spencer came down to the office, inquiring what had happened, no one answered them. Hotch went back to his car, with Haley taking the kids in her car, the ride being mostly silent. As soon as they got home, Haley faced Penelope, JJ, and Spencer, who were looking expectant of what was going on. Well, JJ knew the situation with the fight, but she didn't know what was going to be done.

"Three of you can go upstairs, please," said Haley, meaning no nonsense.

JJ tried to protest. "But—"

"Now," repeated Haley, remaining firm as the three trotted up the stairs. As soon as they heard to door slam, Haley muttered a string of curses. "Un- _freaking_ -believable. I swear to fu—"

"Haley," Hotch cut her off before she could swear. "It's okay, you know how the Barnes family is."

"They're so pretentious," Haley interrupted, her eyes flaring madly. "You know, we have money too, but we don't go on about bragging about it, Judy is just _prejudiced_ against our family, assuming that because our kids are from the system, they _must_ be rejects and scum."

"Haley..."

She was getting hysterical. "That Judy is a piece of work. Yes, her little family may be rich, but let's just say, with rumors and _scandal_ that had been going around about her lately, she shouldn't even let her daughter talk!"

"Haley..."

"Let's just say, about Judy," Haley paused, smirking bitterly. "She _is_ what she _is_..."

"Haley, do you hear yourself talk?" Hotch said incredulously, thankful he got her to stop ranting. "Yes, the Barnes family aren't exactly the most welcoming people in the world—"

" _Aren't exactly the most welcoming people in the world?"_ Haley echoed, letting out a bitter laugh. "That's an understatement, Aaron, and you know it. They've been the most hostile to us and our children ever they got here."

"They're not as bad as the Jensen's were," Hotch muttered calmly, remembering their former neighbors.

"I _beg_ your pardon?" Haley countered back in disagreement, horror creasing her face. "At least the Jensen's didn't like us straight up and weren't afraid to tell us, the Barnes family is so fake! That Judy witch, especially, wait 'till I get my hands on her..."

" _Haley_ ," Hotch said quickly to get a word in. "You can get into trouble just for saying that! As a lawyer, I would know!"

Haley bit her tongue, not saying anything back to him. She wasn't really angry at him, both of them knew that. Who she was really angry with, was Judy Barnes and her daughter. Wordlessly, she picked up her cell phone and dialed the first number that came to mind. Hotch didn't know what to say, swallowing a lump in his throat at who she could possibly be calling. When a voice answers, Haley speaks. "Dave? Can you come over for a second?"

"You're calling Dave for this?!" Hotch exclaimed in disbelief. "Haley, why are you..."

"I need another lawyer's opinion for this," Haley said immediately in her no-nonsense tone. "This makes you biased."

* * *

JJ could hear them arguing. Well, she couldn't make out what they were saying, but she knew they must've been arguing about her, saying how horrible she was for punching another girl. This was especially awful, since her eldest brother and sister were notorious for getting into a huge brawl before, and that was before they were adopted.

It must've reminded them of that event. Now, here she was, sitting with her little brother who had no idea what was going on, and with Penelope, who she's beginning to think had an idea that something _was_ wrong.

"JJ, what's wrong? Why are you sad?" Penelope asked right away when she saw a tear stream down the younger blonde's cheek. Immediately, Penelope sat beside the girl, who's tears were now openly streaming down her face.

JJ's voice was barely controlled. "They're ashamed of me."

"Ashamed?" repeated Penelope, furrowing her brows in confusion. "Haley and Hotch? Why would they be ashamed?"

This time, Spencer looks up from the floor. "Mommy and daddy would never be ashamed of you, even when they get upset when you don't get something as quickly." Unfortunately, this comment caused more damage than help, as JJ began to sob. Spencer looked confused on how that would hurt JJ's feelings, wasn't it supposed to help? Well... JJ knew Spencer didn't mean any harm, he never did. But on top of the comments from today, let's just say it wasn't one of the most helpful things that could be said.

Penelope put her arm over the shaking blonde's shoulders. "JJ, I think you're very smart. But... what happened? It's not just that, is it?"

"Linda Barnes in my class, called me stupid, and..." JJ stopped, sniffling before continuing. "She said that I'm _slow_ , and that I don't understand..."

Spencer tried to open his mouth to say something, but Penelope silently cut him off. "Sweetie, not now." Penelope's attention was solely on JJ. "There's more to it, isn't there?"

JJ whispered on what Linda said about Spencer, how she called him an autistic freak. Penelope could feel her own body beginning to shake slightly in a rage. Yes, she hadn't been with this family for so long but, she felt like she had a duty to protect Spencer, considering the wrong she has done that continues to eat at her to this day. Then, she finished with, "I punched her in the face."

Penelope was about to applaud her, to say she had done the right thing, until a shout from downstairs interrupted her thought. "JJ, come downstairs, please!" commanded the voice of Hotch.

* * *

Right after Dave had arrived only seconds later, Hotch and Haley explained calmly about the whole situation that had occurred today.

"I think that JJ should be rewarded," said Dave, after silently thinking about what could be done. "No one else was there to back up JJ's case, so it looks bad, isn't that punishment enough?"

"Dave, Aaron and I are the parents!" Haley snapped irritably. "We'll decide!"

"You asked for my opinion," Dave said, trying not to appear shocked.

"Your opinion as a lawyer," Hotch said, not sounding angry, but firm. "Apparently, I'm biased."

"I'm proud of JJ, kid doesn't take shit off nobody."

"Dave!" Haley shouted in disapproval. "We will not have our eight year old daughter fighting in the streets of Virginia!"

"Don't _I_ get a say in this?!" Hotch said, feeling left out. He shook his head. "You know what?" He walks to the front of the stairs. "JJ, come downstairs, please!"

JJ quickly ran down the stairs, with no signs that she had been crying earlier. "Yes?"

"That a girl!" Dave said with a smug grin, and even Hotch couldn't hold back a chuckle that managed to escape. Haley glared at the two lawyers disapprovingly before turning her attention to JJ, who's face remained stoic and serious.

"JJ," Haley said calmly, with no hint of anger in her voice. "I understand that your feelings were hurt, and that you wanted to protect your little brother, but you know this family has no tolerance for violence, you know that better than anyone."

"I'm not like him," JJ said with disdain, surprising herself and everyone else. "Tell them I'm not like Spencer." Suddenly, everything clicked. The way JJ had been acting toward her new IEP, she automatically assumed that she was stupid, when she wasn't. Haley was about to go into a big speech on how JJ wasn't stupid, how it took her longer than others, and that there was nothing wrong with that. But it was interrupted with Derek and Emily returning from school.

Immediately the two of them felt a tense atmosphere.

"Alright, what happened?" Emily said right away, wondering why JJ looked near tears.

"I punched Linda Barnes in the face for picking on me," was JJ's reply.

"Punched her in the face!?" Derek exclaimed, not quite believing it.

"Good for you," Emily said immediately, finding the incident funny. "Don't take shit from anyone, JJ, you got that?"

"Emily!" Haley exclaimed, horrified at the swear she said so casually.

"That's exactly what I said!" Dave said, agreeing with Emily, sharing a laugh.

"This isn't funny!" Haley said, seeing a smile creep up Derek's face as well. Her eyes went to Dave. "Don't you have pasta to make?" Dave took the hint, leaving the house as Haley continued speaking. "We don't condone violence in this house!"

"In this house," Derek repeated, still smirking. "You didn't say anything about it in school."

"Derek, don't twist my words, alright?" Haley said lowly, in a voice that told her son not to try and test her. "Violence isn't allowed, _period_!"

"Tell them about what she said about Spencer," JJ said bitterly, her eyes flaring at her mother. When Haley saw the confused looks form on her eldest children's faces, she couldn't hide it from them.

"What did Linda Barnes say about Spencer?" Emily asked, trying to remain calm.

"Emily..."

"What did that snotty little cow say about Spencer?" Emily snapped, this time more forcefully and angrily.

"I'll tell them," JJ said, making sure to face Haley when she said the next sentence. "Linda Barnes called Spencer, _your son_ , an autistic freak."

"What!?" Derek shouted, losing all the composure he had, putting his hands on his head and beginning to pace back and forth. If he had done anything else, it would have been violent, and that wasn't allowed in this house.

"Are you serious!? Why the hell isn't that bitch Linda in trouble?!" Emily's face grew dark. "Wait 'till I get my hands on that little—"

"Emily, no!" Haley shouted over her, not wanting a confrontation. "You think I don't want to do anything to the Barnes family?! You think I'm not upset about the fact that they're getting away with this scot free?"

"They're getting away with this!?" Exclaimed Derek, looking horrified. "That's my little brother and sister they just humiliated! They should pay!"

"Enough!" The reasonable voice of Hotch shouted over the argument. He pointed to Emily and Derek. "You two, upstairs to Derek's room, now!"

Derek tried to protest. "This is bullsh—"

" _Now_!" Hotch interrupted before Derek could swear. The two went up the stairs wordlessly. Hotch's next step was to console JJ, leaning down in the front of her so they'd be at eye-level. "I want you to understand something. Don't think I'm not proud of you for what you did, defending your little brother like that, because I am. It could've been done without violence, however, with your words." Hotch took JJ's hands in his, the latter beginning to tear up. Hotch went on. Another thing, you are not stupid, do you hear me? You're an incredibly bright girl, it just takes you longer than other people, and that's completely okay. That doesn't make you stupid. Having an IEP is beneficial, do you remember what it stands for?"

"Individualized Education Program," recited JJ, remembering the conversation.

"Yes, very good, and it works for your needs, it'll help you do better in school. In fact, you have an advantage over some of your classmates. You have goals, both personal and academically, and it shows your strengths, as well as your weaknesses." Hotch paused, taking a deep breath of relief that JJ stopped crying. "This is a very good thing, JJ. Don't let anyone tell you you're stupid."

"I'm not Spencer," JJ said, still a bit worried.

"No you're not, you're both different people," Haley said, putting in her statement. "An IEP isn't for one specific reason, it's for many reasons. Spencer has an IEP because he has a disability that makes him socially challenged, and he has to achieve goals because of it. You have an IEP because you have trouble with academics, and it takes time for you to learn, you also have specific goals to achieve because of that. What's his weakness is your strength, and it works the same for him. Everyone has trouble with different things, but understand that this doesn't mean your stupid. Do you understand?"

JJ nodded sincerely. "I understand, mommy." She reached over for a hug, all was calm.

* * *

Spencer and Penelope were sitting together, alone in the girl's room and oblivious to what was going on downstairs with JJ and the rest of the family. Both of them had heard the voices of Emily and Derek returning home, but didn't expect for them to be able to stay down there.

"Penelope," Spencer started off, his eyes narrowed in such suspicion that it didn't look much like him. "I have a question."

The plump blonde's heart skipped a beat in anxiety. "Wh-what?"

Spencer seemed to be working something in his head in that big brain of his, turning away from her just for a moment. When it looked like he was done thinking, he asked, "Do you ever get that feeling that you know someone from before?"

He knew, he knew, _he knew!_ He was a genius, of course he would find out eventually! Should she just confess? Maybe he'll go easy on her? No... just play it cool. "What do you mean, hon?"

"Well..." Spencer trailed off, biting his lip apprehensively. "It's just... my um, therapist, was talking to me about our gut instinct, something that doesn't have to do with a body part, but a feeling. And uh, I just... I feel like I know you from somewhere. Have we met before?"

Penelope was going to tell him, fess up, but when she saw that vulnerable little face, she just couldn't. "No, I don't believe so."

* * *

A/N: Such a long chapter, jesus... But hey, a lot was done in this chapter. It looks like Spencer may be onto Penelope? Maybe, maybe not? Leave a review :-)


	13. Revealing Truths

A/N: Ok... I owe a really long explanation for not being active for two months on this story. College applications have gotten in my way, as well as writer's block. Thank you all for your reviews, alerts, and favorites! Really, it's amazing how this story is popular among you guys because I honestly thought this sequel would be awful, but it isn't. It's things like this that make me want to continue writing, which is your loving support :)

I really hope people haven't completely forgotten about this story. Please review!

I'm working on an original story that isn't fanfiction as well.

* * *

Sometimes, Penelope wondered what her life could've been.

If her parents had stayed blessedly normal.

If her parents hadn't kicked her out when things got out of hand.

If she wasn't living on the streets, surrounded by the dangers of being homeless.

If she hadn't met Stephen and Shane.

If Stephen hadn't died.

 _Stephen._

 _Her best friend._

If she hadn't met the Hotchner family.

The family that she had stolen from.

 _A sigh._

It was all so fucked up.

Penelope stopped the anxious bouncing of her legs, biting her lip as Haley called from downstairs, for it was time to eat. Penelope was afraid, afraid of having to go somewhere, because she already found a place here that she loved, and she liked to think that all of them had taken a liking to her. But, she knew, that was because they were oblivious to the truth of what she had done a while ago.

Now it was exposed.

They knew what she did.

It was all _so_ fucked up.

* * *

Penelope didn't know exactly what the truth was on how it started - the first sign of danger that the Hotchner family would figure her out. Derek and Penelope had different perspectives on the first sign of how she was going to be exposed for who she was.

It all started - according to Derek - when he met someone, well... he met that same person that Penelope had known on the streets for being homeless. It was dark, horrifying, not to mention that it brought back some horrible flashbacks.

It all started - according to Penelope - when someone, whether she considered him a friend or not, had reentered her life. It was kind of a relief and devastating blow all at once to see him again, for painful memories were brought up.

But how it actually started was when Derek, Penelope, and Emily went out into the city.

Forgive the idiom, but things were about to go pear-shaped, as Emily, Derek, and Penelope entered the rough neighborhood the latter was all too familiar with.

* * *

Penelope sighed, blinking the tears back. This was the same place where Stephen was murdered. A reason why she tagged along with Emily was that she knew her way around the city, and wanted to be of help. For what Emily wanted, however, came to a shock to the plump blonde. What was even much more of a shock, was Derek's reaction.

"A _vape_ ," emphasized Derek, almost appalled. "You're becoming one of _those_ high schoolers?"

"It can't be detected in urine tests unless I smoked maybe 15 minutes before, but even I'm not that _dumb_."

"This _is_ dumb," snapped Derek. "How can you even afford those?"

"Saved some money," Emily said as a way of explaining. Now, she turns her attention to Penelope, revealing the true reason why Emily allowed her to come with her. "Alright, since you've without a doubt smoked before, show me the best smoke shop."

Derek, who thought he couldn't be any more shocked, managed to defy that. "What... Penelope hasn't smoked!"

Penelope's face went red, not saying anything. She had smoked cigarettes before that Shane stole. Now, Shane, he was a true smoker - at a tender age, too. Penelope, on the other hand, had maybe _three_ cigarettes in her entire life, and those were only during the darkest of days. She didn't like it, really.

Derek blinked multiple times and faced Penelope. "You haven't smoked, haven't you?"

Penelope bit her lip. "Erm... I've had bad days."

While Derek's mouth gaped wide open like a fish, Emily wasn't at all surprised as she continued nonchalantly. "Now that that's settled, Penelope... why don't you show me the shop?"

"Um, it's over there..." Penelope said, trying to get over her shock as she pointed to a local shop she knew. Emily smirked to herself, while Derek groaned in annoyance, and with Penelope feeling uneasy. The three of them headed into the store, and what Penelope saw - or she should say, _who_ \- made her stop in her tracks and stare. Again, she didn't know whether this could be a good or bad thing. There were questions that she had that were now answered, but a bunch of new ones popped up.

Shane, realizing he was being stared at, had looked over in amusement, before walking his way over to the three of them. "Well isn't this funny!? Good to see you, Pen!"

"You know him?" Emily inquired.

Shane laughed, ever so obnoxiously. "Penelope and I go way back!" He faced Derek. "Us two, we _also_ go way back!"

" _What_?" Emily said in confusion.

"Sh-sh-Shane," Penelope managed to stammer out, not quite knowing how to pinpoint where her emotions were at. "It's um... good to see you too. How've you been... what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," retorted Shane, appearing smug. "What are you doing here? Word got around that you're not homeless anymore."

"I'm sorry, and you are?" Emily asked Shane but was ignored.

"Shane..." Penelope said lowly, trying to signal that Emily didn't know certain things like Derek did. "This is my _foster family_ now." Again, Shane began to hysterically laugh, catching everyone's attention as he said, "That's so funny!" Emily was confused, Penelope was getting more and more nervous, while Derek was getting pissed off.

And boy, did it show. "Why is that funny?" he snapped.

"Oh you know why it's funny, you, of _all_ people, know why it's funny!" Shane retorted back, not so kindly. "Since you've met Pen and I before, isn't that right?"

"Shane, stop!" Penelope begged, her eyes glaring daggers at him. However, Shane wouldn't listen.

Emily, however, was getting frustrated. "Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?"

Shane, who had been ignoring Emily, finally faced her. "I'll tell you all about it. You see... Penelope and I were friends, once... we were homeless together, and... there's a lot of secrets that she's been hiding, that I'm pretty sure your _foster brother_ knows all about."

"Shane..." Penelope pleaded once more, but again, was ignored. " _Please_."

"First off," Shane started off, grinning at the way Penelope was squirming. "We start with a chilly November. Did I mention that when Penelope was homeless there was this older man that forced Penelope to give him a kiss for twenty bucks? She totally was gonna go into prostitution if she hadn't been taken in soon." Emily's eyes grew sorrowful and filled with sympathy, but little did she know that that was about to change.

Derek looked horrified, he had not known _that_. He tried to look at Penelope, whose eyes were glued to the floor in shame. "Penelope, you never-"

"But that was after the _incident_ with you guys," Shane interrupted, wanting to get to the main point.

"Don't do it," Derek warned, his eyes glowing red. " _Don't_."

" _Incident_? _With us_?" Emily said incredulously, already beginning to lose patience. She faced Derek, expecting him to know. "Derek, what is this twit talking about?" Derek said nothing.

Shane smirked, gleefully answering it for her. "Ah, so many questions! This is just too good-"

"What is going on!?" Emily finally snapped impatiently. "Because apparently, I'm the only one here that doesn't know shit with whatever the hell you guys were doing!"

"So... this story begins on a chilly November..."

"Shane, stop it," said Penelope, her eyes beginning to water. "Please."

"Penelope was really cold, the weather was _horrible_."

"Shane, don't say it," Derek warned, stepping in, but he already knew it was no use.

"So she found this rich little house..."

"No...no...no..." Penelope muttered brokenly.

"Did I mention that her neck was especially cold? She needed a _scarf_ ," emphasized Shane. "So, she found this house, and then..."

"You've said enough!" Penelope exclaimed, her voice cold and angry. Emily, on the other hand, was trying to piece together the information that she had been told. However, Shane wasn't going to let her figure this out on her own.

"She took a five-year-old boy's scarf! It turns out to be your little brother's. What was it now, a Doctor Who scarf?" Shane mockingly rubbed his chin, as if trying to think. Penelope and Derek looked very defeated, but that was nothing compared to what Emily looked like. Like it was predicted before, Emily's once pitying look turned into a mix of anger, rage, betrayal, and fury rolled into one. A teenage girl never represented a contorted look of this quite as Emily did. This look showed purely into her eyes, you didn't even have to look for her body language to know she was feeling negative energy.

"That's not even the best part," continued Shane, now facing Derek with a smug grin. "Your brother over here met us when he was in the cafeteria. Penelope was wearing that _same_ scarf. He damn well knew everything about her, who she was, what she did, yet he never said a word." Satisfied with the damage he inflicted, Shane walked out of the store without buying anything. Emily, who looked like she was going to kill, ran out of the store as well. Derek and Penelope exchanged a look and followed after her.

* * *

"Emily, I'm so sorry!" Penelope wailed, tears streaming down her cheeks in guilt and despair. Emily whipped her body around in a flash, just goes to show you how angry she was. It was revealed that she also had angry tears that stained her red face.

"You..." Emily said lowly, pointing at Penelope accusingly. "You... you _selfish bitch_."

"Emily..." Derek tried to interject, but Emily was having none of it.

"You're also one to talk!" Emily interrupted before she could give him the chance. There was fury in her brown eyes. "You knew everything, and you didn't say a word to anyone!? Not even to mom and dad?"

"I didn't know everything," Derek tried to defend, but Emily merely rolled her eyes.

"Oh yeah, the _one_ thing you didn't know that Penelope was a prostitute. But really," Emily stopped mid-sentence to glare at the plump blonde. "What other secrets have you been keeping?"

"I wasn't a prostitute!" Penelope exclaimed, looking horrified. "It was just one man, and it was just a kiss every now and then, and..."

"That's how human sex trafficking starts, you stupid girl!" Emily retorted. "Not that I fucking care, you should go screw him now, anyway..."

"Emily what the fuck!?" Derek shouted at her, noticing Penelope's clearly hurt expression. "Why would you say something like that!?"

"Why would she steal our little brother's scarf and then enter our home like she did nothing wrong? She knew what she did was wrong!" Emily fired back. She kept walking fast, with heaviness in each step to emphasize how pissed off she was. Penelope ran up to her to catch up, and tried tapping her on the shoulder.

"Emily wait!"

Emily spun around furiously. "Guess what, I'm going to tell mom and dad, and you'll be out of here!"

"Please... let me explain-"

 _"You'll be out of here!"_ Emily thundered, running off. Derek and Penelope watched her go, the worry sinking into their stomachs. Derek didn't want Penelope to go, but when Emily would tell Haley and Hotch, not even he could predict what could happen. He knew Penelope didn't want to go either because he knew that she finally found somewhere that she'd be safe.

"I need to go somewhere else," Penelope said, fiercely determined. "I... I can't go back to your home."

"It's your home, too..." Derek said solemnly. "You can't just go back living on the streets."

"That's something I've always done, and I'm going back to live on it again," replied Penelope, sighing loudly. "I can't face Haley and Hotch. I especially can't face JJ and Spencer when Emily tells them the whole truth because of what Shane did. I'm sorry, Derek."

Derek gasped aloud, not caring how dramatic he sounded. "Are you _insane_? What if you run into that asshole again!?"

"I won't," Penelope said lowly.

"I have to protect you."

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do. I'm your big brother, I-."

"No, you're not!" Penelope screamed at him, finally losing her temper. "Foster brother. _Foster_. Do you know what that means? It's _temporary_!" Derek was taken aback by this, but Penelope continued, if not angrier than before. "You need to let me go because after what just happened now, I'll never have a family! No family anywhere is going to take me, so don't even bother going after me, because I'll yell and scream that you're trying to hurt me, so don't even come near me!" With that, Penelope ran into the other direction, with Derek looking on with such despair.

He felt he had no choice but to follow Emily and get back home. He had devastating news to deliver.

* * *

A/N:Erm... that happened, oof. So it's good to be back. Apparently, I just learned that Criminal Minds is ending after fifteen seasons? What the eff? My heart is breaking into a million tiny little pieces.

Please, please review!


	14. She's Leaving Home

A/N: I don't know how I feel about the finale of Season 14. I love Jeid, but I hope this wasn't a way to fuck with the fans and say, "Sorry, we just did that for drama, it's not happening." Now, I hope Jeid happens.

So this chapter is named after one of my favorite Beatles songs. I think you really should listen to the song, it's just so good. If you didn't know, the Beatles are like so precious to me and are my favorite band of all time :-)

* * *

It was all so _fucked_ up.

Derek, who really jinxed himself, gulped as he stared at the tall man that had gotten in the way of his path home. It was just how Shane told it. And, to be completely honest, it wasn't doing wonders for Derek's mental health just seeing someone like that. So he couldn't imagine how it's taken a toll on Penelope. Well, perhaps Penelope was mentally stronger than he was. She had to be, after all.

Yellow teeth, cold, and his eyes were preying on the adolescent. This, without a doubt, was the man that was tormenting Penelope. Derek didn't have any proof, but he was sure. Why else would he be stopping here? Because he had seen him with Penelope. For now, Derek was scared for his life and Penelope's.

"Hello there," the man grumbled, smirking so deviously. "What do we have here?"

Derek stood his ground. "Leave me alone," he says, trying to push past him but was easily blocked. "I said, leave me alone or I'll call the cops."

The man had the balls to laugh loudly. "And do what? What are you going to say? You're a small black kid wandering around the streets, I could simply say that you tried to mug me."

" _No. Way,_ " seethed Derek, his eyes narrowed in defiance. "No one would believe you. So I won't say anything, you don't say anything, and we'll pretend this never happened." Just as Derek was about to walk away, a familiar click stopped him dead in his tracks. He didn't even have to turn around to know that the man had a knife. He turned around away, to already know that he was right. The man had a pocket knife in his hand, looking particularly malicious.

"Let's go somewhere more private, eh?" He cooed, keeping his smirk up because he knew he won. "It might save your life."

* * *

Haley pressed her lips together in annoyance. Penelope, Emily, and Derek swore that they'd be home before three in the afternoon. She found herself glancing at the clock on the wall every five minutes. She watched from her chair as the clock was at three o five, then three ten, and so on and so forth. Finally, when it was four o'clock, she couldn't take it anymore. "Aaron, they are over an hour late!"

"Kids are kids, Haley," Hotch tried to dismiss, but even he felt a little off. Normally, they respected their curfew. "Maybe give them ten more minutes."

"Something is not right," said Haley, shaking her head in disapproval. "Something _happened_."

* * *

"What do you want from me?" questioned Derek, looking the man dead in the eye. He knew most people would've followed the man, but truthfully, Derek has seen much worse, and he wasn't going to back down yet.

"You know what I want," the man said, grinning as he looked him up and down. "I normally don't like little boys, but you're the exception."

Derek felt tremors down his spine as he gulped. "N-no," he stammered. "Not doing that."

The man held up the knife higher. "Let me remind you of your options," he says, his eyes mischievously grinning. "It's either I fuck you, this knife, or..." he began to ponder, frowning on what to do. Then, an idea came to mind as that sick grin grew large. "I go after that girl of yours."

Derek's eyes went wide. _No, no, no... not Penelope_.

* * *

Penelope didn't know where she was going. Hell, she never did. It was preposterous for her to think that there was a family for her. Shane was right. In fact, she would not be surprised if the Hotchner family was angry since they probably all knew the truth about her and what she did. Then again, they would be thrilled knowing she wasn't going to come near them again.

She had successfully dried her tears. She wouldn't be crying anymore. She _can't_ cry anymore.

Settling by a stoop that Penelope's always known, she wrapped her arms around herself and shuddered against the heinous winter, like she had done many times before.

* * *

"Aaron, I don't like this," says Haley, getting nervous as she glanced at the clock again. "It's going to be dark soon." JJ and Spencer, nearby, exchanged a nervous look. This goes unnoticed by Haley, who was too worried about the other three. Hotch, however, caught it and tried to be reassuring.

"I know this is odd, but..." Hotch trailed off, figuring out what to say that would console his two youngest. "I'm sure they'll be home shortly." He jerked his head over in JJ and Spencer's direction, a way of signaling her to not worry them.

Luckily, she caught it. She whispered worriedly in Hotch's ear. "At this point, who knows?"

* * *

"I'll go with you," Derek blurted out quickly, out of fear. He glanced up to see his eye twinkling madly.

"Glad you see it my way," the man said, putting the knife in his boot. It took everything for Derek not to shudder openly.

"Where do you want to go?" Derek sighed, admitting defeat.

* * *

Emily was still steaming as she got off her train and began to stalk her feet home. If she was angry about this, imagine how everyone else would feel. Spencer, although smart as a whip, did not have the maturity to understand something like this. Still, he would understand that he was living under the same roof with someone who had robbed his scarf. To a five-year-old, things like that are sacred.

JJ would be heartbroken. She was always highly sensitive, in a way. Always so in tune and in sync with other people's emotions; the opposite of Spencer. She felt sympathy for Penelope and was the one to go the furthest in trying to make Penelope feel welcomed in the beginning. And now, it was going to punch JJ in the stomach to know all the lies and secrets Penelope had kept.

Haley and Hotch, on the other hand, well, Emily wasn't so sure. Haley could be very nurturing and understanding, like a proper mother. Then again, she was the type to fiercely protect her cubs, no matter what. She made it perfectly clear that the four of them came first when it came to the decision of taking in Penelope as a foster child. But at the same time, she held the philosophy that any kid who walks through her door, whether a friend or a foster child, would be treated as if they were apart of the family.

Hotch was hardworking. Hotch was keen and stern, and highly observant. Emily knew that he knew that something was off with her. Nevertheless, he took Penelope in, and he found himself growing fond of the quirky girl. Still, if it wasn't for Haley, he knew he wouldn't be able to make the decision of her living with them. Emily was positive there'd be some repercussions for Penelope's deceit, but, it's highly unlikely they'd throw her out on the street.

With all these thoughts in mind, Emily barged through the door angrily, with the intent to spill everything.

* * *

"Why are you late!?" Haley yelled immediately when Emily walked through the door, her eyes flaring. "It's been over an hour!" Emily resisted the urge to roll her eyes. By some miracle, she's the one that gets yelled at instead. Well hopefully, the anger will be directed towards Penelope and Derek soon. They weren't even here!

Oh fuck... they weren't even here.

"Things happened," was Emily's pathetic excuse, she already realized what could be a potentially fatal mistake.

"Where's... Where's Penelope and Derek?" JJ curiously asked. Little did everyone know, that was going to be the question of the day.

Haley crossed her arms. "Yes, Emily. Where is Penelope and Derek? Your little sister would like to know."

"So do I," chimed in Spencer, not helping the cause.

Huffing defiantly, Emily crossed her arms, mirroring her mother. "They're probably too scared to come home because of what they've done! Do you know that Penelope was the one who robbed Spencer?"

JJ gasped in surprise, while Spencer looked very confused. Hotch and Haley exchanged a look, also confused. They looked back at Emily as Hotch said, "Wait what? Elaborate please."

Emily appeared much more confident. "I have you know that we ran into one of Penelope's street friends. And it turns out that Penelope stopped by our house and ran past Spencer and snatching his Doctor Who scarf."

To say Hotch and Haley was appalled was an understatement. Haley looked visibly angry like someone had struck a bullet through her. While Hotch looked more upset than anything else. This shocked Emily. She thought that Haley would be upset and that Hotch would be angry. She immediately noticed that Hotch looked more upset than Haley. "Yes... remember what you said? You said it was 'probably some street thug'." She copied his words from before, and Hotch really wishes she hadn't. Emily shook her head in anger. "Turns out _she_ was the thug."

Hotch sighed heavily, having an inner battle with his thoughts. It looked like the same was going on for Haley, who also didn't know how to approach this. Suddenly, Haley remembered JJ's question from before. "They're not here."

Emily blinked twice. "What?"

"Your brother and Penelope. They aren't _here_ ," Haley said, her voice bordering on anxiety. "Where did they _go_?"

* * *

Penelope felt no hope like she had before. Just when things were starting to look up, it all came crashing down.

She wanted to tell them the truth at some point, but not like this.

If there was any other way, that would be the way, but not this.

Would she ever find love?

Would she ever get the family she deserved?

No, she had decided. Because, apparently, she felt she deserved nothing.

It was all _so_ fucked up.

* * *

Derek has been humiliated hundreds of times, but this certainly takes the cake. He had been told countless times by so many people that something like this wouldn't happen again. Hmph, they were all liars. +His therapist was a liar, his sister was a liar, in fact, his whole family was full of liars. Zipping his pants up in shame, he didn't know where to go next. He could go home, but... he was already in enough trouble.

He could look for Penelope, but he would risk getting hurt. If he ran away from his problems, it would only prove to her that she was right. For a moment there, he considered running away _with_ her, and they'd both live on the streets forever. But he still had the logic, proving by now, that was a dangerous option.

 _Just remember, you deserved this..._ The man had said to him.

Hmph, those kinds of people always knew what to say.

Tears welled up in his eyes. Frustrated at this weakness, he immediately got rid of them. There was no more crying. Not after what he'd done. He decided he was going back home, even though they lied to him. Saying that he wasn't going to be... touched the way he was touched. But now... he was sure he was tainted for good. Still, he promised that he'd find Penelope, so if it took him getting this, so be it.

Standing in front of the Hotchner residence, he opened the door slowly and carefully...

* * *

A/N: - *sigh* I dont know guys, I just don't like this chapter. I feel like I could've done better but i dont know, it feels meh...


	15. Bravery, Courage, and Determination

**Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds**

A/N: So um... here's a bit of an update. I haven't had time. AT ALL. I knew I'd come back to the story eventually, I just needed some time and all. I know it's been ten months, and this probably isn't my best work... but I really hope you guys like this.

* * *

"Where have you been!?" Haley nearly shrieked, her eyes wide as saucers. Hotch looked quite stern as well, while Emily wouldn't face Derek, and JJ and Spencer looked speechless. Haley pointed to the clock. "Do you know how worried we were?!"

Derek stared at them blankly. What could he say? How could he explain this to them? "Things happened." Emily facepalmed because that was the same exact excuse that she gave them. It looks like Haley and Hotch realized that too because they looked even angrier than before.

"What kind of things?!" Haley pressed, narrowing her eyes. "Derek, answer me!"

The shame was radiating through his body. "I... can't.

"Wait a minute," Hotch noted, frowning. "Where is Penelope?"

Beat.

"I don't know," Derek answered honestly. "She... she just left."

"What do you mean she _just left_?!" exclaimed Haley. "Why would she just leave?!"

"She probably feels guilty about what she did," Emily remarked, finally speaking up.

Derek's eyes flashed angrily at his older sister. "You _told_ them?!"

Emily remained unsurprised by his outburst.

"Of course I told them!" snapped Emily. She looked toward Emily and Hotch, who both looked hard in thought. "Didn't you both tell me that family does come first?!"

"JJ and Spencer, go upstairs," Hotch ordered the two youngest curtly. They didn't bother arguing and did what they were told. Soon after they were out of earshot, Hotch said to the older two. "Yes, family does come first. But that doesn't mean Penelope shouldn't feel safe coming home if she feels guilty."

"Is she going to be in trouble?" Derek asked anxiously, dreading the worst. "She can't be in trouble! She did what she had to do!"

"She should be in trouble," Emily said angrily. "If she's not, then that's ridiculous-"

"Want to tell why you were out?! Tell them about the fancy vape you were going to buy-"

" _Snitch_!" Emily sneered at Derek.

"You snitched first!"

"Enough!" Haley shouted over the arguing. They stopped, as Haley continued in frustration. "No one is in trouble. No one will be in any trouble of the sort. Right now, we need to focus on getting Penelope back. It's freezing cold out and I'm worried sick for her!"

Emily and Derek exchanged a glance of anger.

"Both of you, go to your rooms," Hotch ordered. "Don't come downstairs until we say that it's okay." Again, the two exchanged another glance, before heading upstairs and slamming their doors shut.

Haley bit her lip nervously. "Aaron... what are the odds?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Hotch answered, sighing deeply. "I guess we're going to have to call the police and Kate."

"This is becoming so much," Haley admitted, looking like she was on the verge of a break. "Why can't... why can't people see that we give a shit?! And when I say people, I mean our kids! I just don't understand this."

"Look... we're going to bring back Penelope," Hotch said determinedly. "That's a promise."

"But what if we don't?"

"We will," Hotch said, this time more assertively. His voice, however, grew softer: "We _have_ to..."

* * *

Penelope liked to wonder what her life would've been like if she hadn't met the Hotchner family. She isn't talking about her entering the foster system, it was more about if she hadn't taken Spencer's scarf. If she hadn't done anything like that, it's very possible that she'd still be living on the streets. However, here she was, back again. It was if life was trying to tell her something. She was not meant to have a proper family, a proper home, a stable environment.

As if... she was _born_ to live on the streets.

As optimistic as she tried to be, as optimistic as any other nine-year-old should be, Penelope just couldn't do it anymore. Like she had said many times before, it was so fucked up. All Penelope wanted in her life was stability, and it looked like she wasn't going to get it anytime soon.

A cold breeze hit her as her stomach growled.

Just when that happened, her head started to pound against her skull.

Yep, it was back to the old grind.

* * *

"Derek... JJ told me to be more connected with my emotions... my therapist said that too, so I know something isn't right-"

"I'm not telling you, kid."

Spencer blinked twice. "But-"

" _No_ ," Derek said again, this time more sharply. "Go read that Mark Twain book... leave me alone." He sat in his bed, staring at the ceiling as Spencer read his book on the corner of the floor. Spencer had been watching his older brother, like a science experiment, and just _knew_ something was up. Spencer Reid was _not_ stupid. Nonetheless, he went back to reading, still keeping a watchful eye on Derek every ten seconds. The worry would never leave him unless Derek spoke to him.

Derek wanted to sleep... yes, that's what he wanted. Just as he was about to close his eyes, Emily barged into his room.

"Spencer, go to my room," Emily barked an order at him already.

Spencer sat up straight, biting his lip apprehensively. "Why?"

"Just do as I say, it's really important," Emily said, this time a little more softly than before.

"No kid, don't listen to her," Derek said, glaring at Emily. "Just because she's the oldest doesn't mean she gets to boss us around."

Emily raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Trust me, you want him to leave the room."

Spencer flew out of the room, he couldn't stand them fighting anymore.

He got off his bed and stood face-to-face with Emily. "What the hell is your fucking problem?!" He finally snapped at Emily. "You know... I really thought you changed... I thought you became a better person, but no, you're still the same bitchy Emily Prentiss we all know."

Emily didn't let this outburst faze her. Something was up ever since she left them in the city. He hadn't acted like this since he first arrived here as a foster kid. Again, this sentence repeats in her head over and over again; like the beat of a drum.

 _He hadn't acted like this since he first arrived here as a foster kid._

Emily stared, wide-eyed at the possibilities that could've taken place. "What the hell happened?"

 _Beat_.

"He threatened to go after her," Derek muttered softly, his eyes shining with tears. "I had to protect her."

Emily stood still.

"He..." Derek took in a shuddering breath. "It was either her... or me."

 _Beat_.

"He? Who's _he_?" Emily pressed, frightened.

"I don't know, this old man," Derek said, something flashing in his sad eyes. "But he's probably going after her anyway... I- I should've stayed."

"So basically," Emily started off, her voice low and barely steady. "This man... said that he was going after Penelope, or he'd go after you."

Derek nodded, not being able to say anything else.

"Did he, do things?"

He nodded once more.

Emily was struck speechless. Her eyes were filled with guilt, and she felt she'd remain like this for the rest of her life. She didn't know if she should hug him, that was probably the last thing Derek wanted right now. "Are you going to tell your therapist?"

"No," said Derek.

Emily faltered for a minute. "Are you going to tell mom or dad?"

This time, it was more firm: " _No_."

"Are you going to tell _anyone_?"

Derek sighed, looking down at the floor. He immediately regrets it; by the way he softly said: "...No."

She didn't know how to help him. "What are you going to do?"

"Bottle it up inside until I can't anymore," Derek said sardonically.

Emily sighed. "You know you can't do that."

"Yeah... well... I thought this wouldn't happen to me again."

"It didn't have to happen-"

"Yes it did," Derek interrupted coldly, looking at Emily with frustration. "If it wasn't me, it would've been her. She's... she's too young for that shit. Imagine... what if that was JJ?"

Emily ran a hand through her hair in distress. "I just hope she gets back here."

"Same here," added Derek, leaning against the wall. "But... does she even want to be found?" He asked doubtfully.

"It doesn't look like she has a choice," replied Emily. "She has people who actually give two fucks about her now."

* * *

911 was called, as well as Kate. There were many questions that Derek and Emily were asked, like where were they last with Penelope, and they answered accordingly to the best of their abilities.

Dave had arrived on the scene of it all, looking flustered himself. "What in the hell is going on?"

"Penelope," was Hotch's answer. "She ran off... into the city."

Emily and Derek exchanged a guilty look.

"I... Oh my god..." was all Dave could say, shaking his head. "Where would she go? It's under thirty degrees outside."

"I don't know, but she better be found soon," Haley said with increasing worry. "Hypothermia is very real."

"I'm here!" Kate said, running over to the family and hugging Haley with all her might. "First of all, are you okay?"

"That's an awful question and you know it," Haley countered, sighing at her foul mood. "I'm sorry... I'm just-"

"Don't worry," reassured Kate. "I understand."

"Kate," said Hotch, curious. "What is going to happen to Penelope if we find her?"

She had to think for a second. "Well... she might be sent back here, or to a different foster home. However..." She paused, looking very serious than Haley has ever seen her. "It is possible that she could be sent to a juvenile facility."

" _Why_?" snapped Haley. "There is no need for that! She..."

"I'm not saying that will happen," Kate quickly interjected. "I'm just saying... that if she breaks any sort of laws while running away and living on the streets, and she is caught, and the police get there, it's very possible she could be arrested, but... that is very unlikely to happen since you notified us about her running away."

"That would be terrible if something like that were to happen," remarked Dave. "What can we do?"

"All you can do... is let us handle this," advised Kate. "Let the police do their job. Let me do my job. We will make sure Penelope is brought back to safety. You can count on it."

"Aren't you... not allowed to be certain about these things?" Haley said anxiously.

Kate, however, wasn't anxious. She was determined. She remembers having Penelope in her office when she was trying to help her find a foster home. Kate remembers hearing her story - and how Kate miraculously came to the conclusion that Penelope Garica was truly one of the bravest kids she had ever met. Penelope was brave, she had lived on the street for six months. Even though her file talks about the trauma she went through, Kate was sure that she went through more.

"Penelope is a fighter," Kate said sharply. "She will hold on, wherever she is."

* * *

 **A/N: Yes, I know... it's so weird for me to be back and writing CM fanfiction. This is absolutely strange to me to be back, so my writing might seem a bit... off. But, nonetheless, I really hope you guys enjoyed another chapter. More chapters will be posted soon, hopefully!**


	16. AN: Regarding this story

A/N: Hi guys, Sammie here. I know these messages are hated because you were probably expecting an update of this story that hasn't been done in 6 months, but I'm here to tell you that it's very unlikely that it's going to be finished, since I've moved on from the Criminal Minds fandom and decided to go into a smaller fandom, Kim Possible ( I know what a transition, haha ) Who knows though? Maybe I can come back to this fanfiction one day. I just don't really know where to go forward with this story. I've had issues like this in the past where I had a severe case of writer's block, and I would come back to a story and finish it because the idea will hit me.

If you really enjoy my writing, I highly recommend you read a fanfiction I'm writing for Kim Possible, called the _Rebellion Against Global Justice_. (If you love the Hunger Games by Suzanne Colins and The Giver by Lois Lowry, I think you'll like this story) Personally, I think my writing is a lot better on this fanfiction than any other one, including _The Troubled Children_. I was only sixteen when I published that fanfiction. Now, I'm nineteen, and I feel like my writing has matured since then.

If you want to keep in contact with me, my tumblr is listed on my profile at the top.

In case I don't come back to this story, thank you for everyone who has kept up with _The Troubled Children_ and _These Children are Loved._ I hope you understand that I'm having a severe case of writer's block when it comes to Criminal Minds stories. I would like to thank a user named Dextolan, who really introduced me to the Criminal Minds fandom, someone who really mentored me throughout my writing process. For those of you who don't know her, I highly recommend you check out her stories, they're amazing.

Thank you all,

~Sammie050301


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